Unexpected
by Janethewriter1
Summary: Hanna is ten months into motherhood as a young single mom. The way she envisioned her future as a mother is completely turned upside down when her own mother takes her on a well deserved holiday and forces Hanna to open up her heart and life for new possibilities. Takes place after 1x21. T/M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hanna is ten months into motherhood as a young single mom. The way she envisioned her future as a mother is completely turned upside down when her own mother takes her on a well deserved holiday and forces Hanna to open up her heart and life for new possibilities. Takes place after 1x21**

 **Unexpected**

 **Chapter one.**

 **Grandma**

 **XxxxxX**

Staring out at the endless sight, Ashley let out a long breath of content. She was enjoying herself at the Santa Barbara beach. A smile grazed her lips and she thought back for a moment as to how long it had been since she had actually been at the beach.

It must have been when Hanna was only two years old. Ashley smiled to herself when she remembered that very first time Hanna had seen the ocean. How excited her little toddler had been, clapping her tiny hands and her dimples never disappearing from her cheeks. How her father had walked her to the edge of the ocean to show her the crashing crashing waves. How he had carried her to carefully touch the water whilst in her father's protective arms. How she had squealed in delight at the sound of the crashing waves and spent the rest of the day playing with the sand. How she and Tom had stared at their daughter for the rest of the enjoying herself, promising each other they'd take her to the beach every year.

Ashley looked at the blonde haired baby girl in front of her. Crawling through the sand in her pink frilly bathing suit. Her pudgy legs sticking out of them and covered in sand. Her tiny fists enthusiastically grabbing as much sand as she could fit in her little fat fists before opening them again and watching the sand fall from her little hands in awe. Repeating the action over and over again.

Ashley chuckled at the endearing sight and wondered if she would ever be able to tear her eyes away from the beautiful little girl in front of her. She had always been convinced she could never love anything and anyone more than her own daughter. But then this tiny munchkin came into the world and Ashley soon found out how deep and far her love could stretch.

The moment Hanna had revealed to her she was going to be a grandmother she had been shocked, angry, furious even, worried and apprehensive. Not only was her daughter way too young to bring a child into the world. She was too vulnerable and inexperienced, but also going through her first ever heartbreak and bringing this baby into the world as a single mom.

Even though it had hurt Ashley to do so, she had told Hanna about her options. Telling her she'd support her in any choice she would make regarding her pregnancy and begged Hanna to really think about it and sleep on it before making a final decision about her future. Yet the next day her brave daughter had told her with an uncanny determination she was going to do this by herself and keep her baby.

Ashley had predicted all the tears during the pregnancy. The bittersweet moment her granddaughter came into the world looking like a replica of her father and how much that affected Hanna. Her daughters struggle to be a new mom, the sleepless nights that nearly became too much for Hanna and she even predicted the breakdown coming 6 weeks in.

Yet Ashley hadn't predicted how fast Hanna would pick herself up again. How determined she was to be the best mom she could be. Do her very best in school to build a future for herself and her daughter. She always knew Hanna was strong, but she hadn't expected she would become such a proud mother and grandmother herself in such a short amount of time. Proud of the woman Hanna had become ever since she had made the decision to be a mom herself.

Ashley smiled as her granddaughter began to squeal at something she must have found in the sand looking at it intently, but Ashley soon shot up from where she was sitting when the baby brought her tiny hand to her mouth and tried to put whatever she had clasped inside of her fist to her mouth, alongside a handful of sand.

Ashley yanked the baby's hand away, but it was too late. She had already eaten a handful of sand and was chewing it thoughtfully before deciding she didn't like it. Scrunching up her nose. Her lower lip quivering before her cries started to fill the beach. Becoming louder by the second, the soft breeze carrying her shrill cries on for miles.

Ashley pulled her granddaughter into her lap trying to soothe her and rummaged in her bag to look for her sippy cup.

Wound up by the continuous and increasing crying from the baby, Ashley desperately tried to locate the sippy cup but couldn't find it. Desperately, she grabbed a bottle of water, which was nearly empty. Cursing herself now for not letting Hanna pack the diaper bag for her like she had offered. She momentarily locked eyes with another woman sitting close to her before she poured some of the water from the water bottle into the cap and tried to let her granddaughter drink from it, but the now screaming and furious girl wouldn't have it and slapped the water bottle out of her hand. The water rapidly disappearing into the sand.

"Oh no!" Ashley moaned.

"I hope you don't mind, but us mother's should help each other out!" The woman who she had locked eyes with said. Standing next to her and holding out a sippy cup for Ashley to take.

"My kids haven't used it, I just find them useful to take to the beach." She said smiling as Ashley gratefully accepted the cup and gave it to her granddaughter who grabbed it and brought it to her mouth eagerly. The crying subsiding in an instant.

Ashley felt herself relax. She hated her granddaughter crying.

"Thank you!" She said letting out a breath of relief, looking at the friendly woman who was still hovering, her eyes on the baby and smiling broadly at her.

"Glad to help, you can keep it. We have enough at the house and my boys are actually way too big for it." She said pointing at two small boys who were building a sand castle not too far from them.

"Thank you again, it's so nice of you to help out. Are you sure you don't want it back? I'm pretty sure I have a few more cups at the hotel."

"It's fine really, don't worry about it. Anything for such a beautiful little girl." She gushed the last few words at the baby who was still happily guzzling from the cup. The moment the lady locked eyes with the little blonde baby, she dropped her sippy cup and shot her a massive grin, showing her two newly aquired bottom teeth.

"Awwww, look at her, she is so cute." The lady gushed, looking at the baby in adoration and then to Ashley.

"She likes you." Ashley smiled at the interaction and nodded at the woman to sit down next to her as she was still awkwardly standing next to her.

"You are so lucky." The woman said, sitting down. "Don't get me wrong, I love my boys to bits and I wouldn't trade them for the world. But seeing this cutiepie reminds me of how much I would have loved to have a daughter. You are so lucky to have such a beautiful daughter!" She said stroking the baby's chubby dimpled cheeks and looking into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh eh…" Ashley started awkwardly.

This wasn't the first time it happened to Ashley. More than often people assumed she had two daughters instead of only one.

"This isn't my daughter, she's my granddaughter."

The lady whipped her head around to stare at Ashley, although her expression was void of the shock and judgement Ashley usually received when she told people she was a grandmother.

"You look so young though." The lady said.

"Im 45, Ashley admitted, my daughter is 17."

"And who is this little lady?" The woman asked squeezing the babies pudgy leg. Not making an issue of what Ashley just told her.

"This is Aubrey." Ashley said in a proud voice, she's 10 months."

"Hello Aubrey." The woman said in a baby voice and Aubrey smiled at her again, holding up her little arms and letting out a whiny voice before reaching for the lady, begging to be picked up. The lady looked at Ashley apprehensively but Ashley nodded encouragingly at her.

"It's fine, she loves meeting new people, although her mother would probably kill me. My daughter Hanna is very protective of her."

Ashley watched as Aubrey climbed into the woman's lap, taking a moment to settle down before shooting both women a cheeky smile, as if she had just won the day by managing to claim the stranger's lap all for herself.

"Omg she is so stinking cute." She said glancing over Aubrey's blonde hair, the cheeky brown eyes and dimples that appeared when she laughed, to her high cheekbones and her tanned complexion. Her brows furrowed for a moment before she smiled broadly again at Aubrey who returned it happily, gurgling incoherent nothings.

"So you said you're staying at a hotel, are you on holiday here?" The woman asked, finally tearing her eyes away from Aubrey.

"Yes!" Ashley smiled happily. "The first year, it's been… it's been quite tough, but my daughter has been fighting hard against the odds. I took them on holiday for a well deserved break." Ashley said. "She always told me she wanted to go to the west coast some day, so I surprised her with a holiday for her summer break."

"That is so nice of you! It must be hard on you as well, having a young daughter who is a mother. I'm sure you still have a lot to deal with even if she is doing all she can."

"We get by." Ashley smiled proudly again. "She really does all she can, I'm proud of what she's accomplished so far. I wasn't sure what to expect but she really changed since Aubrey was born and even before that. She will move heaven and earth for her daughter."

Ashley looked up at the woman, noticing her eyes had glassed over. Aubrey oblivious to the shift in atmosphere was playing with her toes she had recently discovered, doubling over to try and put them in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Ashley said apprehensively. Not sure how she might have upset the other woman. Or how she upset the woman.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just, it reminds me of myself.'' She finally admitted wiping at her eyes.

"I was a teen mother myself and it was so hard. I didn't have the support you are obviously giving your daughter so it just reminds me of how things could have been." She finally said giving Ashley a weak smile.

Ashley glanced at the two boys behind the woman. They must have been around 3 and 5 years old by the look of them. The woman was probably around her own age. Ashley could tell the moment she had laid eyes on her companion she was well off. She hadn't missed the meticulous manicured hands and feet, the massive rock and wedding band on her hand and the Birkin bag on her beach towel. She smiled at the woman not wanting to say anything that would upset her, assuming the lady's worrisome past must be well behind her.

"It's a long time ago and I'm lucky for everything I have in my life now." She said having seen Ashley looking at her.

"But it was really hard when I was younger, I had to make some tough decisions all by myself and looking back now, there's so much I would have done differently."

Ashley smiled at her knowingly. Not wanting to judge her, as the lady herself hadn't judged her being such a young grandmother either. Ashley couldn't imagine her own daughter having to struggle as a young mother all by herself.

Ashley was fully aware of the sacrifice she was making by being there for her Hanna and Aubrey but she couldn't imagine doing anything else.

"I can only imagine." Ashley said understanding.

"So have you been here long, in Santa Barbara, how long are you staying?" The lady asked not wanting to dwell on the painful subject.

"We only arrived a few days ago, the flight was exhausting for my daughter and it took us a few days to settle in and find a rhythm. Dinner is still a challenge." Ashley chuckled.

"With this little girl you mean?"

"Yes! You can't really have a quiet meal and enjoy your dinner with a tired 10 month old around. Back at home we feed her before we have dinner ourselves, but now we are at the mercy of the hotel which means eating at the same time. I do look forward to a hot meal again." Ashley chuckled.

"Oh I remember those days and I don't miss that at all!" She chuckled and looked behind her at her children who had moved to the water's edge, chasing each other.

"Boys! Not so close to the water!" She called out and they ran further up the beach.

She turned back to Ashley again and smiled. "Life with boys." She sighed rolling her eyes. I'm glad we live close by so they can blow off some energy. Don't know what else I should do with them both at home for 6 weeks!"

"You are lucky to live so close to a beach! Do you live here in Santa Barbara?"

"No actually we live a town over, but this beach is more child friendly, so I rather come here with my two rambunctious boys." She said giving her a knowing look.

Ashley chuckled and looked at Aubrey who started rubbing her eyes and sighed.

"I'm really enjoying this company but I should get going. She's getting tired and I want her back at the hotel before she starts getting cranky. I bet her mother is already wondering where we are."

The lady smiled sweetly at her. "I understand. I really enjoyed spending some time together and especially with this cute little lady." She said rubbing the wispy blonde hair on Aubrey's head and standing up with Aubrey in her hands as Ashley scooped up her belongings into Hanna's massive diaper bag, throwing it over her shoulder before taking Aubrey from the woman and wrapping her in a towel despite the heat and smiling at the woman whose company she had enjoyed so much.

Ashley was about to bid her farewell, but the lady spoke first

"Uhm before you go…" She started uncertainly, walking over to her own beach blanket and rummaging in her bag. Scribbling something on a piece of paper and handed it to Ashley.

"I know it may be a bit weird and I'm not sure if I am crossing any boundaries. But if you and your daughter like to, my husband is testing out his new barbecue tonight and you are very welcome to come over to our house to join us. Have a nice quiet dinner for a change whilst this little one plays around. We have a child friendly house so she can play around safely."

"Wow, thank you for the invitation, I actually really appreciate that!". Ashley said excitedly having enjoyed the woman's company. "I'll talk to my daughter about it, she doesn't really like having new people around Aubrey, but I'll do my best to convince her. Hopefully we will see you tonight."

"It was nice meeting you….?" The woman asked looking at Ashley expectantly and holding out her hand, slightly embarrassed that they hadn't exchanged names before.

"I'm Ashley."

"It takes was nice meeting you Ashley, I'm…" But she was cut off.

"Moooommm!" They heard across the beach.

They whipped their heads around looking at the two boys, where one of them was waving excitedly.

"I'm mom apparently."She chuckled and looked at Ashley apologetically.

"I really hope to see you later Ashley, you're welcome at 5. Or earlier, whatever goes with the little lady." She said as she shot her an apologetic look and made her way to her kids who were still jumping and and down excitedly.

"I'll do my best!" Ashley called out and waved at the woman. Looking back and smiling at her granddaughter in her arms who had her little head on her shoulder, already drifting off to sleep.

 **XxxxxX**

"Mom, what were you thinking, why did you think this was a good idea? You know I don't like strangers around Aubrey." Hanna said, stroking her sleeping daughters hair and trailing a hand through the wispy strands before walking towards Aubrey's cot and tucking her in. Closing the door behind her and walking to the bedroom she was sharing with her mother.

"Hanna, there is nothing wrong with meeting new people." Besides it's only a dinner. You have to admit it yourself it will be nice to have your hands free for a while so you can eat your dinner. How long gone had it been since you've been able to do that?"

"It will have been a year when she turns one." Hanna scoffed, letting herself fall onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"So what's keeping you, why don't you want to come tonight?"

"I don't like being around new people." Hanna moaned, sitting up and looking at her mothers expectant face.

"Well your daughter does." Ashley challenged.

Hanna sighed again rolling her eyes at her mother's persistence. "Why don't you just go by yourself mom? Me and Aubrey can have a quiet night in."

Ashley surveyed her daughter for a while, contemplating what to say next.

"Because you need this Hanna. Ever since you found out you were having Aubrey you have been very serious about being a good mother and I am beyond proud of you."

"But?" Hanna asked.

"No buts, I am proud of you and there is nothing wrong in broadening your horizons or letting go sometimes. You don't have to be the perfect mom all the time, you're only 17."

"I know I'm only 17 thank you very much. I was there remember?"

"Oh I remember Hanna." Her mother shot back. "But now you have the opportunity to let loose a little bit Hanna. Meet new people and relax. I came with you on this trip so you can have some time to yourself, not for you to stay in your hotel room all day and night."

"I thought you brought me here because you were proud of me and I deserved some time away?"

Ashley smiled at Hanna and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Of course I am proud of you Hanna" She said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Prouder than I ever imagined I would be in such a short time. You've really changed and you always put Aubrey first. But Hanna, even as a mom and especially as the young mother that you are, it's totally okay to let loose sometimes. It's okay to have fun. Like I always remind you, a happy mother is a happy baby."

Hanna smiled weakly, however it never reached her eyes.

"Hanna what's wrong?" Ashley asked, starting to worry a bit that she was unable to lift Hanna's mood.

Hanna shrugged.

"Hanna you can tell me anything, you know own that by now down you?"

"I know mom." She said quietly.

"So spill."

"Look, mom. I love you for the things that you say about me and I love being here with you on this holiday."

"And you are right, I do need to let go a bit more and maybe go out and have a bit more fun, but Aubrey only has me as a parent and I don't want to disappoint her."

"Ooohhhhh baby, is that what you have been worrying about?" Ashley nearly laughed, but stopped as soon as she saw Hanna's solemn face and she hugged her daughter close.

When they pulled away Ashley looked at Hanna, her hands still on her shoulders.

"Hanna! Aubrey loves you!"

"No wait, she adores you. And when you are not around she's still fine and she won't love you any less because you're not spending every free second with her, so stop worrying." Ashley said, gently shaking her shoulders and shooting her a smile which Hanna finally returned.

Hanna grabbed her mother's hands in hers and squeezed them softly before getting off the bed and pulling some clothes from the dresser.

"What are you doing?" Ashley asked, surprised by Hanna's sudden movement.

"Grabbing some clothes and having a shower, what does it look like? What time do we need to go to that barbecue?" Hanna said matter of factly before disappearing into the shower. Her mother sitting back on the bed with a smile on her face.

 **XxxxxX**

"Mom! Are you sure this is the address that lady gave you?" Hanna whispered when she steered their rental car to stop near one of the bigger mansions on the street that they had been driving on for a good few minutes.

Ashley glanced at the paper in her hand again and looked at Hanna, who was gawking at the house.

"This is the address." Ashley confirmed. "It does explain the Birkin." She whispered to herself.

"What?" Hanna asked, looking at her mother in surprise. "What Birkin?"

"Hanna I told you that she had a Birkin and I told you I could tell she was well off."

"How well off do you think she is? It looks like she robbed quite a few banks." Hanna said and stared at the gate surrounding the house, wondering if her mother's new found friend would actually let them into the house.

"Come on, let's go." Ashley said. Getting out of the car and opening the trunk to get Aubrey's stroller.

Hanna unbuckled Aubrey's seat and placed her in the stroller, fixing her dress and her hair in the process as she stared up at the house again, wondering what kind of people lived beyond those gates. Soon following her mother who was already pushing Aubrey towards the gate ringing the bell on some sort of security system.

"Hello?" An excited voice came from the intercom and Ashley looked into the tiny camera of the intercom, but before she could introduce herself she could hear the voice again.

"Oh hi Ashley, it's so lovely to see that you're here. I'll open the gate."

Moments later the whirring sound of the gate opening could be heard and they waited patiently until they could make their way to the front door where the woman was already waving at them, the youngest boy from the beach hanging off her leg. In no way did she look like she ever used to be an underage mother, Hanna thought to herself. She really must have done good for herself.

"Hi, I am so delighted that you are all here." She said with a pearly white and genuine smile.

"I see you have managed to convince Hanna to come along." She said as she helped Ashley lift the stroller into the house.

As soon as they entered Hanna tried not to stare too much around the house, although she was very certain she had never seen a house quite like it. According to the bewildered look on Aubrey's face the tiny girl was just as impressed by her surroundings as Hanna was. Looking with wide eyes at the massive chandelier right above them.

"Do you like those twinkling lights baby?" Hanna cooed, tickling Aubrey's tummy making her squeal in delight and kick her little legs.

"Hanna, you have such a beautiful baby, I already told your mother that so many times today but she really is a little treasure."

"Thank you. Hanna smiled shyly. She's a pretty good baby."

"Do you want me to take you to the garden? My husband is already setting up his new barbeque."

"Sure." Hanna and Ashley said in unison, following the lady towards the back of the house, down a long and bright hallway and into a massive kitchen where two French doors lead into a rather large patio area followed by a garden that seemed to stretch for miles. Hanna tried not to look too surprised by the magnitude of everything.

Hanna noticed a tall broad and dark haired man standing by the barbeque as they reached the decked area. Even though he was standing behind the barbeque, he was still wearing slacks and a soft blue dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. A young lanky boy only dressed in swimming trunks stood so close to the man it looked like he wanted to disappear into him.

They both looked around as soon as Hanna, Aubrey and her mom stepped onto the patio area and shot them friendly smiles as soon as they locked eyes.

"Our guests are here William." The lady said to the man, beckoning Ashley and Hanna to come closer and the man called William held out his hand to introduce himself.

"Hi, it's very nice to meet you." William said in a surprisingly soft and kind voice, his blue eyes twinkling and laughter lines in his face deepening as he greeted them.

"I'm Claudia's husband." He said unnecessary pointing at his wife, although Ashley was happy to find out the woman she had been talking to was called Claudia. It suited her.

After Hanna and Aubrey had been introduced accordingly as well, Hanna noticed the lanky boy was still standing close to his father and eyeing Hanna and her mother suspiciously.

"James, stop hiding behind your father and come and introduce yourself." Claudia said to the lanky boy in the swimming trunks. You too Clay." She said to the youngest of the two and peeled Clay off her legs pushing him towards Hanna and her mother.

"Come and sit down." Claudia said after they all had been introduced and guided them towards the comfortable looking seating area where she poured them all some lemonade calling her boys over to join them, sitting down as well.

"Hanna, do you want me to grab some cushions or a blanket for Aubrey to play on?" I still have my boys blankets and I'm sure I still have some toys she could play with as well."

"Uhm, a blanket would be nice." Hanna said shyly as she pulled Aubrey from the stroller. Hanna wasn't so sure why this over friendly woman was making her act so shy in the first place. She had gotten so used by people judging and underestimating her as soon as they found out she had a baby, that it was slightly unsettling to finally meet someone who acted like being a teenage mother was the new normal.

Soon Claudia was back with her arms laden with blankets and some colorful toys. Laying down the blanket between them, with some help from James. Hanna placed Aubrey down on the baby blue blanket and Claudia handed Aubrey a colorful toy which she happily accepted, gurgling incoherently.

"Well she's one happy customer." Claudia said and sat back down and looking at Aubrey who was now trying to devour the toy that was given to her.

Hanna laughed at Aubrey's antics. "Silly girl." Hanna laughed and shook her head as Aubrey kept gnawing the toy, drool dribbling down her fresh shirt.

"Don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure it's unbreakable." Claudia said confidently looking at Hanna who was still looking and smiling broadly at the little girl at her feet.

"Now I can finally tell where she gets those dimples from." Claudia said, nodding from Aubrey to Hanna.

"Yeah I guess that's a family thing. Hanna smiled. I'm really glad she inherited at least something from me." Hanna said. "She's got those dimples and the blonde hair from me, but everything else is definitely thanks to her father." Hanna explained.

A flash of Aubrey's father running through her mind before she buried that image to the back of her head where it belonged.

"Oh, is he still around?" Claudia asked apprehensively, she didn't get the impression from Ashley earlier that day the father was still in their lives.

Hanna however didn't answer and Claudia looked from Hanna to Ashley, afraid that she might have said the wrong thing and upset the young girl sitting across from her who had a look of utter shock on her face.

"No euhm… the father is not around." Ashley said, glancing sideways at Hanna who had fallen silent and seemed to stare straight through Claudia as if she was invisible.

"We never had a chance to…" She started but soon her eyes fell onto what Hanna must have been staring at and the words died in her throat.

Claudia looked at the both of them curious as to what they were staring at and whipped around in her seat following their gaze.

Claudia let out a breath of relief when she realised what they'd been looking at. For a moment she felt like Hanna and Ashley had seen a burglar walking up to them. Although considering the way her eldest son was dressed, she couldn't blame them for thinking the worst.

Claudia turned back around trying to ease Hanna's and Ashley's minds, missing her son's astonished face and his jaw hitting the floor as he got closer.

"Hanna?" The boy said in a whisper, although his deep voice carried clear around the garden.

"Caleb?"

"Is that really you?" Hanna asked in shock.

 **XxxxxX**

 **Well, I do love cliffhangers… and reviews :)**

 **If you want a preview let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guys!**

 **I've been absolutely blown away by your love! The first chapter received so much love that I'm feeling anxious to even upload this chapter. It really touched me so much to hear your thoughts!**

 **Just a side note about the story, Hanna and Caleb are still very young and only dated a little bit before they broke up in 1x21, so the Haleb that we all know and love hasn't fully evolved yet but hopefully I will be able to do them justice.**

 **Guest who gave me some suggestions to the story. Some of them will actually make it into the story.I really appreciate you sharing those.**

 **Boris Yeltsin: 1st: Haleb, 2nd: Spoby, 3rd: Jaria or Ezria, depends on the story. If you have read Sweet like Jasmine you know I absolutely love Ashley Marin as well.**

 **XxxxxX**

 **Unexpected**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Grandmothers**

 **XxxxxX**

For a moment everybody looked at one another. A tense silence falling over the now silent garden.

Ashley and Hanna gawked at Caleb who had stopped in his tracks as soon as he had been sure it was none other than Hanna Marin sitting on his patio.

Neither Claudia nor William knew what to make of the situation and kept looking between the three as if they were watching a very exciting tennis match. James was clueless and kept poking the meat on the barbecue now his father wasn't paying him any attention. Clay however looked apprehensively at his mother, confused by the sudden silence that seemed to have fallen between the adults.

It was finally little Aubrey that snapped Hanna out of her silent stare, gurgling loudly as she gnawed the end of the blue blanked Hanna had placed her on. Realisation dawned upon Hanna as she looked into her daughter's chocolate brown eyes, panic filling her heart rapidly and suddenly shot up from her seat and scooped up Aubrey in her arms, who was still holding on to the blanket, making a beeline for the front door. Hanna never walked so fast in her life and practically ran for the door with Aubrey on her hips. Luckily the car keys were in her handbag and she quickly strapped Aubrey in her seat, driving off without so much of looking back.

 **XxxxxX**

They had all watched Hanna bolt out of the door. Both Ashley and Caleb wanted to go after her but shock had kept them in their place. It was Ashley who finally broke the silence.

"I think ehm, I think I should go. See how she is." Ashley muttered staring at the door where Hanna had disappeared through.

"I'm so sorry Claudia, about the barbecue." She said apprehensively as she stood up. Momentarily meeting Caleb's confused gaze and looking at Claudia apologetically before making it out of the door with all the stuff Hanna left behind in her haste to leave.

Claudia was still sitting in her seat slightly shell shocked, the cloud of confusion disappearing and being replaced by a gut wrenching realisation, the knot in her stomach tightening when she turned around in her seat to look at her eldest son who was still standing in the same spot, staring at the seat Hanna had vacated not so long ago.

"Caleb?" She said, making him jump slightly and beckoning for him to follow her inside the house shooting William a knowing look. She sat herself down on one of the stools at the kitchen island, Caleb following her and sitting down next to her.

"So?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"What?"

"Are you going to tell me how you even know Ashley and Hanna? I mean I was quite shocked to find out that you apparently knew our guests."

"Yeah I know them from Rosewood, they kind of gave me a place to live when I was there." Caleb said shortly.

"I thought your last foster mom was called Janet?" Claudia asked confused.

"She was. But uhm, that didn't really work out and Hanna…" He swallowed thinking about Hanna and tried not to think about her shocked face when he walked into the garden only minutes ago.

"Hanna what?" Claudia asked, her curiosity peaking. She had never heard Caleb talk about any Hanna's or much about Rosewood for that matter. When she had finally found him in Arizona after her private investigator had called her that he had located her son, they had talked, fought, yelled, cried and talked some more. She had asked him about his past and he had asked about hers.

He had asked her questions she wished she never had to answer, but she did.

He had never mentioned Rosewood all that much in all their conversations and started talking about other subjects when she did ask him questions about Rosewood, but never had she imagined that it could have been a girl he didn't want to talk about. She had assumed he might have had a bad experience with his last foster family and that being the reason he finally started looking for her.

"Hanna just... I don't want to talk about that." Caleb said, getting off the stool and making his way to his bedroom.

Claudia sighed and threw her head back in frustration. She knew it was because of her own life choices that Caleb was the way he was. Shutting down completely when anyone got too close. She groaned getting off her seat and followed Caleb upstairs, making a beeline for his bedroom and walked in after a short knock on his door. He was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, not acknowledging her presence, although she was sure he heard her knocking and couldn't have missed the creaking sound of his door.

"Was she your girlfriend?" Claudia asked abruptly. Leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Caleb sighed, hating how similar they were but glad he wasn't the only one in this world who didn't beat around the bush. He didn't answer her, instead he ran his hands through his long hair, trying to keep the memories he had of Hanna at the back of his mind where he needed them to stay for his own sake. To his dismay his mom wasn't giving up and stepped into his room. Sitting down in his chair behind his desk and twirled it around so she was facing him.

"Did you have sex with her?" She asked needing to know what she already suspected.

"Mom?!" What the hell kind of question is that?" Caleb yelled, sitting up on his bed and finally looking at his mother. Annoyed when she raised his eyebrows at him, as if she was entitled to know about his private life.

He was shocked to see when she got up front the chair and placed her hands on her hips.

"What kind of question is that?" She asked, mockingly throwing her hands in the air.

"Have you totally missed Hanna leaving with a baby in her arms?!"

"No I didn't...but." Caleb said.

"But?"

"What's that got to do with me?" Caleb said, but the moment those words left his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said that.

"It's got to do with you, because I think that baby is yours!" She said venomously crossing her arms over her chest again. "Or are you telling me that's not a possibility?" She asked more subtle this time.

"How are you so sure the baby is mine?" Caleb asked curiously, not answering his mother's question directly.

He didn't even see the baby until Hanna had picked the little blonde up from the floor and left the house, he hadn't even seen if it was a boy or a girl. With everything happening so fast, he hadn't had time to take a moment to clear his head and think about everything that just happened.

His mother let out a breath and looked at him, staring into his chocolate brown eyes. The ones that were like a mirror to hers, so eerily similar to the little baby Hanna had given birth to.

"It's the eyes, she's got your eyes." Claudia said, answering Caleb's silent question about the baby's gender.

 **XxxxxX**

Hanna finally arrived back at the hotel. Hanna made it to the room in a hurry, scared that anyone that wasn't her mother might have followed her. She pushed the door open in with some difficulty, Aubrey having fallen asleep in her carseat that was hanging off her arm, the baby blue blanket draped over Aubrey, the corner of it scrunched up in her little fist. Hanna laid down on the bed, placing Aubrey next to her, wrapping her up in the blanked looking like a cute burrito. She propped herself on her side looking at the perfect baby girl next to her. The few strands of blonde hair falling in her face, although Hanna couldn't get herself convinced they needed a trim. She glanced at Aubrey face. Whenever her baby was relaxed like this, her face void of the dimples, she still looked so much like Caleb. The long dark lashes, the dark eyes now hidden by her closed lids, her high cheekbones even visible on her chubby cheeks and even the familiar chin.

Hanna brushed through her blonde strands, wiping away a fat tear that threatened to fall on Aubrey's face.

Hanna laid down on the bed, pulling Aubrey even closer to her and inhaling her comforting baby smell.

The familiar smell calming her down and finally giving her mind some clarity, her heart dropping as she started to feel bad about her earlier behavior. Claudia had been so nice, so welcoming. She was actually about to tell her mother how right she had been about taking Claudia up on her offer to have dinner at their place. Hanna was finally starting to settle down a bit, being hugely intimidated by the house and it's surroundings. Unable to believe people could actually be so welcoming to some strangers they only just met. Now she realised how far from strangers they'd actually been.

On the ride home she had put it all together. Claudia must be Caleb's long lost mother. Hanna finally understood why she had been so comfortable with Claudia. Why the mere sight of her, the chestnut hair and the very familiar brown eyes calming her nerves whenever she looked into them. They were the same as Caleb's. The very same as Aubrey's.

The sound of the door of their hotel room opened, but Hanna stayed where she was. She didn't glance at the door when it opened. She knew it was her mother coming in.

Her mom didn't say anything but walked over to the other side of the bed and laid down, Aubrey in between them. Hanna met her mother eyes. She was embarrassed for her behavior and was happy for Aubrey lying between them, sure her mom wouldn't start screaming at her.

"She looks so peaceful when she sleeps, doesn't she?" Ashley said, having seen the traces of tears on her daughter's cheeks.

Hanna only nodded, tears forming in her eyes yet again when she looked at her daugher who resembled him so much. She didn't like to think about the boy who left her, getting on a bus without so much as a proper goodbye or an explanation as to why he was leaving only a day after begging her for another chance.

"Do you think they know?" Hanna asked apprehensively. She didn't want to think about what might be going on at Claudia's house right now.

"I'm pretty sure Claudia has figured things out. You did kind of bolt out of there." Ashley said. "And thank you for leaving me without transport, I had to call the hotel to send a taxi."

"So he knows?" hanna asked, ignoring her mother's comment about the taxi.

"Yes Hanna I'm pretty sure Caleb knows by now." Ashley watched as Hanna fought a few more tears but most of them still made it to her pillow.

"What's wrong baby?"

"I don't want to think about him knowing about Aubrey, what if I lose her?" Hanna finally admitted stroking Aubrey's dainty head.

"Han, you're not going to lose her. Why would you even think that?"

"Because this is Caleb. As soon as he knows he will want to see her, especially with the history he's had with his family. He'll want to be part of her life and I don't want that. She's fine with me." Hanna stuttered through tears.

"Hanna stop worrying. You're really getting ahead of yourself. Let's take this one day at a time okay? First you need to understand that you do need to go back to that house and talk to him."

Hanna shot up from the bed.

"What? Why do I need to talk to him? I don't owe him anything!" She said angrily.

"He just got up and left mom!"

"Shh." She hushed, stroking Aubrey's head in case she woke up.

"Like I told you so many times. He came to the house determined to see you Hanna. It doesn't make any sense he left Rosewood without saying anything."

"Well that's what happened didn't it!" Hanna snapped, lifting Aubrey off the bed and taking her to her cot. She took a while tucking her baby girl in, the blue blanket still wrapped around her. Hanna took a moment staring at the features she loved so much. Hanna took her sweet time before returning to their room, not wanting to discuss Caleb with her mother.

"I called for room service since we skipped out on dinner." Ashley said calmly, putting the phone down and sitting back on the bed as Hanna reentered the room.

"Sorry about snapping at you mom." Hanna sighed.

"It's okay Hanna. It's been a crazy day."

"I could have done without crazy though." Hanna said. I thought this holiday was supposed to be relaxing."

"Well I definitely didn't think we'd come here and run into Aubrey's father, what were the chances anyway?"

"Next to nothing, but apparently with my luck the chances were very high." Hanna sighed and eventually looked at her mom.

"I don't want to see him mom. I don't feel like I owe him anything." She admitted.

Ashley gawked at her daughter, struck by the intensity of her daughter's stubbornness.

"Hanna you can't mean that!" She said.

"Aubrey is his baby as much as she's yours. Maybe you feel like you don't owe him anything right now, but think about your daughter at least. Aubrey deserves to know her father. Especially if that father wants to be a part of her life. You can't go on with life pretending she doesn't have one, especially now that you know where he lives. How will you ever explain that to your daughter one day?" Ashley asked.

Hanna groaned, frustrated at her mother for always needing to be so God damn righteous.

"Where are you going now? Food will be here any minute." Ashley asked watching Hanna disappear angrily into the bathroom, although she knew exactly why Hanna wanted to abandon their conversation.

Hanna sat herself down on the toilet and locked the door, looking at the tiled floor. Any mention of Caleb was still hard on her. She had managed quite well so far. Her mother and friends knew he was a forbidden subject, and up until this day she had managed to keep her tears about the boy she had given her entire heart to, to the privacy of her bedroom. She hated thinking about how she trusted him with everything she was. The boy who she let in the house under her mother's very nose, the boy she had trusted to take her virginity.

Finding out he had been paid by Jenna to befriend her had crushed her heart in a million little pieces. Everything that had meant so much to her, everything she she thought they had, everything they had shared now tainted by the knowledge that money had brought her into his arms. Hanna knew then she would never ever feel more heartbroken than in that moment. But only a day later she watched him get on that bus without so much as an explanation or a goodbye.

That's when she knew she would never ever mention the name Caleb Rivers again.

Yet a month later she found out how wrong she would be about that promise. She had been so shocked to find out he had left her with something of theirs growing inside of her.

It had been Spencer who had made her realise her period was late when she had asked Hanna for a tampon. Their periods had been synced for a long time, subsequently being the main cause of many snapping matches between the two friends. When Hanna looked in her bag for a tampon she wondered why her period hadn't come yet, although she quickly blamed it on Caleb leaving. Yet when still nothing happened 3 days later Hanna began to panic. With apprehension she confided in her friends one day when they were all hanging in her bedroom.

"I'm late." She had blurted out.

Hanna had looked around at her friends shocked faces, their mouths hanging open as they stared.

"Wait, how late?" Aria asked.

"A week and a half." Spencer breathed, having done the math in her head.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Aria asked.

Hanna shrugged her shoulders, " I thought it was because of stress, you know with Caleb leaving and stuff."

"You didn't use protection?" Aria asked. Shocked Hanna would be so careless.

"We did. And the next morning, you know. We did it again but that condom broke and we agreed that I'd go and get a morning after pill, to make sure, but then..." Hanna trailed off.

"Then he broke your heart into a million pieces." Spencer said unapologetically.

"Always the sensitive one aren't you Spence?" Emily snapped, looking back at their distraught friend whose brows were furrowed, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Have you done a test yet?" Emily asked, touching Hanna's knee gently.

"I've been too scared to." Hanna admitted in a small voice and before she could blink Emily got off the bed and pulled on her coat, leaving in a rush without so much of a goodbye.

"Always the sporty one isn't she?" Spencer said in a mock tone.

Not many words were exchanged between the friends whilst Emily was gone. Neither Aria or Spencer really knew what to say, not wanting to assume Hanna was actually pregnant until they knew for sure. Luckily for them it wasn't long before Emily burst back into the door, pulling 3 different test from her bag, looking nervously at Hanna when she placed them in front of her on the bed.

"Do you want us to leave?" Emily asked.

"No stay." Hanna said shaking her head, needing the support from her best friends more than anything.

After waiting an excruciating 5 minutes it was Aria who was daring enough to walk over to the bathroom to look at the 3 tests, Hanna's life's verdict obvious in Aria's wide eyes when she emerged from the bathroom.

Her friends hadn't left her side all day, trying to console the already heartbroken Hanna, promising her how they'd be there for her whatever choice she'd make. How she'd always have a babysitter for her baby, discussing ways on how she should tell her mom and taking on the task of trying to contact Caleb as they had all agreed he should at least know how he'd left Hanna behind. Even if Hanna furiously tried to protest against the latter.

Two weeks later Spencer had come to her and told her she had been unsuccessful in contacting Caleb. She'd even gone to Jenna and asked her if she ever heard from Caleb. But even Jenna never heard back. It was then and there Hanna had made up her mind. She would have this baby and do it all by herself. Her baby didn't need a father, she'd make sure she would be both. Hanna didn't have much of a father herself ever since he moved away and knew how she didn't actually miss him all that much. She would make sure her baby would have the best life she could possibly provide.

All by herself.

 **XxxxxX**

"How did it go?" William asked his wife when she finally approached him, a worried look on her face.

"I think we are indeed grandparents." She said in a soft tone, glancing at James and Clay eating their burgers at the picnic table. She looked back at William whose eyes were big.

"I'm only 38." William protested, I'm way too young to be a grandfather." He said turning around to face Claudia.

"Well I'm only 33, that doesn't scream grandmother either." She said rubbing her hands over her face. "It's all because of me, I screwed up Caleb's life and now history is repeating itself."

William sighed and looked at his wife, pulling her closer in a tight hug. "It's not your fault, sometimes things just happen." He said into her hair.

"Now what do we do? How do we fix this?" William asked when they pulled apart.

"How do you mean?"

"How do we help Caleb?"

Claudia let out a breath of relief. "Could you maybe have your hotels check for their reservation? Caleb wants nothing more than to find Hanna." She explained.

"I know that might go against rules and regulations but seeing as you own the hotels you're allowed to bend some rules."

William let out a short chuckle. "What is their last name?" He asked.

The name is Marin." Claudia said handing William a piece of paper with their information scribbled on it by Caleb.

"I met Ashley on Leadbetter beach, so I think they must be staying close by."

 **XxxxxX**

 **Preview? Let me know, I've nearly finished chapter 3.**

 **Review please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to all my readers! Thank you for sticking by me and all the lovely reviews and pm's I've received, it's so encouraging! It was the holidays here so I didn't have that much time to write. But here it is.**

 _Luja14. Thank you for being my beta!_

 _Guest / FrenchBenzo. The -A situation will be explained._

 _Guest, the story will be about 30 chapters long I think._

 _Guest who left the incredible rude review. I wasn't going to react to your offensive words, but I am a petty person. Especially as I am sure you were the one reviewed to Halebxxx as well, a while back. I take solace in the knowledge you have never actually taken the time to get to know me personally nor know of my personal situation or you would have never chosen those offensive words. I do suggest you get your own behind to an actual bookstore where you can buy an actual book that already has a beginning middle and ending. Written by an actual published and paid author who writes for a living and stop making writers on FF feel bad about not updating. *Rant over.*_

 **XxxxxxX**

 **Unexpected**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Daddy**

 **XxxxxxX**

The next morning, Caleb was still sleeping at 9.30 am. Even though it was summer break from school, he was used to getting up with his brothers; who had not yet grasped the concept of "quiet voices", waking up Caleb in the process of getting dressed or thundering down the stairs for breakfast. Secretly, Caleb did enjoy having breakfast with his little brothers, mom and step father. It was nearly like having a real family again. Although everyone had done their best to make him feel at home as much as they could and even after being there for nearly a year and a half now, it still didn't always feel like home to him. Sometimes he felt like he was just watching from the sidelines, as if he was only there to observe the little family living their lives.

Caleb groaned and turned on his back in his bed, running his hands through his hair as the one person that always felt like home to him ran through his mind again. Followed by everything else that had happened yesterday. Seeing Hanna again, with a baby nonetheless. Her shocked face when she saw him and her running away. Neither had he missed how flustered Ashley had looked before she left as well.

Caleb thought back to how his mom had come into his bedroom looking solemn, telling him how she was convinced he was the father of Hanna's baby and explaining how much hanna's daughter looked like him when he was that age.

She had asked him about his history with Hanna and he finally told his mother everything about Hanna and Ashley and what they had done for him when he was in Rosewood. How much Hanna had changed his life in such a short time and how much she had meant to him. It had been the last piece of the puzzle that was his life, that Claudia had missed. The piece he had never been able to talk about, knowing it would take ages to wipe Hanna from his mind if he ever started to talk about her. It had taken him at least 2 months after he had left Rosewood to soothe the ache in his heart after Hanna had dismissed him when she had found out about the deal he had made with Jenna. His heart breaking when she never stopped him from getting on that bus and watched him leave Rosewood for good, even after he had declared his love to her in that letter.

His mind was interrupted by the tiniest knock on his door.

"Come in." He grumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. Caleb sat up slightly and watched the doorknob turning slowly before a small head poked around the door, followed by another small beaming face smiling up at him. He nodded at his pyjama clad brothers who stumbled in his room, holding a tray, carrying it together and walking over to his bed.

"We made you breakfast, mommy said you weren't feeling good." James said, nodding proudly at a messy sandwich Caleb knew he must have made by himself, a glass of milk filled to the brim next to it and a bowl of cereal with way too much milk to Caleb's liking. He accepted the tray from his brothers nonetheless, trying not to spill any more milk.

"You have a tummy ache?" Clay, the younger of the two asked. Observing Caleb closely with his big innocent blue eyes.

"No, I don't have a tummy ache. Caleb laughed. Wondering what his mother had told his brothers.

"Can we watch transformers?" James asked enthusiastically, his eyes wide with expectation.

"Yeah...transformers!" Clay breathed happily and climbed on Caleb's bed, not waiting for a response and tucked his legs underneath the duvet, snuggling into Caleb's side. James followed after his brother, yet being less careful, making the tray on Caleb's legs wobble and the milk spill all over the tray.

Caleb grabbed the sandwich before the milk could spill over it and looked at it apprehensively.

"It's a peanut butter-jelly. James said proudly, I made it all by myself."

Caled ruffled his brother's hair and bit into the sandwich, although all he could taste was peanut butter. He sunk himself against the pillows to join his brothers in a transformers marathon as Clay had managed to work both the tv and the chromecast, but that didn't last long when their mother burst in the room.

"Morning boys, she said as she took in the scene of all her boys in the bed watching tv. James and Clay not even looking up from what she knew had to be transformers, but Caleb sat up straight and looked at her expectantly the moment she had entered the room.

"Has William found them?" Caleb asked, no longer able to concentrate on anything but his mother who nodded slightly, a small smile gracing her lips as she watched Caleb jump from the bed.

 **XxxxxxX**

"Hanna stop freaking out!" Ashley said, nudging her daughter.

"I'm not freaking out." Hanna grumbled, although she knew her mother could hear the lie in her words.

"Right." Ashley chuckled. "Then please stop trying to snap your neck every time someone walks past."

"I just can't believe you took me back to the beach where you met Claudia only yesterday. Why didn't you tell me before we got here?"

"Because I'd be here by myself if I did." Ashley sighed.

"What if they come here looking for us?"

"They won't." Ashley said, but she wasn't really convinced that was true. She knew if it had been her in Claudia's shoes, she'd be looking all day and night for what maybe her granddaughter.

"Maybe they just think we're crazy people and don't even suspect Aubrey is Caleb's." Hanna said, her wishful thinking getting the better of her. She looked up at her mother with raised eyebrows when she snorted loudly at her words.

"What?"

"Have you looked at your daughter properly?' Ashley chuckled.

Hanna glanced over at where Aubrey was sitting at the end of her feet, a white sunhat on her head as the sun was especially hot today. This time her chubby baby dressed in a frilly yellow bathing suit donned with white flowers that stood out amazingly against the slight tan of her skin. Hanna didn't have to look at Aubrey's face to understand what her mom was talking about. She knew Aubrey looked a lot like Caleb. Everybody that had ever known Caleb, even briefly, could see the striking similarities.

"Don't remind me." Hanna muttered as she watched Aubrey dig into the sand aggressively with her bright pink toy shovel. Flecks of sand landing around her, giggling as she watched the effect of it all and repeating the action over and over again.

Both Ashley and Hanna laughed as Aubrey giggled audibly. The high pitched noise having an infectious effect on both of them.

Hanna leaned over and picked up Aubrey before lying down, holding Aubrey high above her making her squeal in delight before bringing her back down and blowing a raspberry in Aubrey's neck, who let out loud shrieks of laughter as Hanna repeated the action a few times before placing Aubrey on her chest and hugging her close, peppering her cheeks with loud kisses. Ashley watched the interaction with a massive smile on her face.

She knew Hanna was dead set on not making any effort to try and contact Caleb, but watching Hanna and Aubrey together, she hoped she would be able to change Hanna's mind. Seeing how much joy it brought her to see Hanna interact with Aubrey, she knew she could never leave Santa Barbara without extending the same courtesy to Caleb and Claudia. But hopefully it wouldn't come down to having to drag Hanna back to their house to see them.

She watched them as Aubrey looked at her mommy excitedly, who was hiding behind her hands now and suddenly reappeared shouting "boo!" making Aubrey scream with laughter and kick her legs happily in Hanna's lap.

"We should probably head back soon Hanna" Ashley eventually said when Hanna and Aubrey stopped their endless game of peekaboo.

"She'll fall asleep soon and we can have a quiet lunch in the meantime."

"Hmmm, that's a great idea. Do you want to go to the hotel or have a look around here for a place to eat?" Ashley asked, looking behind her glancing at the busy street.

"I think the hotel would be better. If she wakes up I can take her upstairs." Hanna said, getting up with Aubrey on her hip and extending her hand to Ashley to help her get up from the towel.

"Come here grandma, let me help you."

 **XxxxxX**

Ashley hadn't been wrong. Aubrey fell asleep in her stroller the moment they had started walking the short distance to their hotel. Only arriving in the cool air of the lobby 10 minutes later.

"Do you want to have some food brought up to the room, or do you think we should sit down and leave Aubrey asleep in the stroller?" Ashley asked looking towards the restaurant.

"I think we should eat it upstairs, I want to put her down properly so she can get a good sleep. She's been in the sun all morning." Hanna explained and followed her mother who had started walking towards the elevator with Aubrey.

"Hanna?" A low voice called behind them. Stalling them in their way to the elevator.

Ashley whipped her head around to see who it was, her eyes growing big when she looked over Hanna's shoulder. Hanna however was nailed to the floor but didn't turn around. She didn't need to. She knew exactly who's voice that was.

Hanna finally turned around and looked straight into the chocolate brown eyes of Aubrey's father.

"Caleb." She breathed.

"Hey." He said quietly, his shoulders hunched a little, his hands stuffed in his pockets. A clear sign he was nervous. "Can we talk?"

Hanna looked behind her to tell her mom she would go and talk with Caleb but she just managed to see the doors of the elevator closing on her mother and Aubrey. Part of her relieved her mother had decided to leave them to it. Hanna swallowed and took a deep breath before she turned around to face Caleb.

"Yeah sure, you want to go outside?" She asked, pointing at a seat outside underneath the shadow of a tree that would provide them some kind of privacy. They were silent on the walk there, Hanna's mind going a million miles an hour. Scared of the things Caleb might say or ask.

Hanna never had time to brace herself for what was coming, when he suddenly turned around and looked at her before they could sit down on the seat.

"So Aubrey is mine?" Caleb asked looking at her deadpanned.

Hanna looked at him for a few seconds, her mouth slightly open and staring at him.

"Of course she is yours, who else's could she be?" She asked angrily, aghast at Caleb's bluntness.

Caleb cursed at himself inwardly, he never meant to sound like Aubrey could be anyone's, he didn't want to assume she was his. How could he? Before yesterday, he never knew she existed.

"That's not what I meant Hanna, I meant you never… you never told me that you had a baby, or that you were pregnant." He stuttered standing opposite her and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"And how was I supposed to do that then?" She asked her temper rising. The anger, hurt and betrayal she had buried long ago, now suddenly bursting out of her and no longer able to contain it as she looked at the boy who had chosen to leave Rosewood. Chosen to leave her.

"What do you m…?" Caleb started, but Hanna cut him off, not giving him any chance to speak.

"The last time I saw you, you had no problem getting on a bus to God knows where without so much of a goodbye Caleb." Hanna yelled, her voice breaking at the memory.

"You looked at me and you still chose to get on that bus and leave Rosewood. As if what we had never meant anything to you." She added in whispered tones, tears brimming in her eyes and swallowing hard, trying to keep her tears from falling as she remembered how much it had hurt her to watch him leave her for good.

"Without a goodbye Hanna? Calb asked, the anger now bubbling inside him and forgetting the main reason he was there.

His hands started to tremble when he realised she was accusing him for leaving her behind as if it hadn't hurt him to do so. "After coming to your house, trying to find you at the festival where you wouldn't see me and even after making a complete fool of myself by writing you that letter, you were the one who watched me get on that bus without so much of a goodbye. After everything I confessed to you, everything I said in that letter was true and you still watched me leave." He yelled back, his eyes blazing with anger, his hands running through his long hair in frustration.

"Just like everyone else in my fucking life." He added, looking at Hanna one last time before he turned on his heels and left, walking fast towards his car where he could hide, so Hanna couldn't catch up to him and see the tears that he was no longer able to contain.

It wasn't long before he finally reached his car, climbing in and throwing his head against the steering wheel, letting his tears fall freely. Seeing Hanna again had brought everything back to him.

All that she had meant to him, all she had done for him and how much that short time of knowing Hanna had turned his entire life upside down. How she alone had showed him there was still good in the world and changed his life forever.

Caleb sat up straight and wiped at his face angrily, starting the car and looked at the hotel in his rearview mirror before pulling into the road.

He looked back at the hotel again, thinking of Hanna and their little baby. He had come all this way to try and see Aubrey, ask Hanna all about the little girl his mother told him all about, but all they ended up doing was fight. It was like history repeating itself. The very last time he had seen Hanna they had fought. Not that much of an argument that they had just now, but it was still the very thing he could never get passed.

 _He had found the note in his locker and had wondered all day what it could be about. The feeling of dread only slowed him down all day, but at nightfall he finally made his way to the Marin house where a furious Hanna had yanked open the door and called him out for being too friendly with Jenna._

" _Money?! You did this for money?" Hanna asked incredulously, her arms crossed over her chest, eyes angrily fixed on him._

" _She knew I was a hacker. She asked me about her phone." He tried, although that's not all he did for her and Hanna was bound to find out._

" _The phone you couldn't crack, was that a lie too?" She asked._

" _Jenna found out that I did work on Emily's phone. She offered me cash to make myself available to you and listen. I thought it was just some generic bitchiness with all the pretty girls, why shouldn't i make a couple bucks." He admitted truthfully, silently hoping Hanna would catch on to the fact he always thought she was beautiful, although judging by the death stare she was giving him probably not._

" _You are such a creep." She snapped at him, shaking her head and walking off but Caleb wasn't done yet. He needed to explain so much more._

" _Wait!" He said and he felt relieved when she turned around, even though she left some considerable space between them._

" _Then she started asking questions, he continued. Questions that I didn't like, and by then… other things were happening… with you and me." He added in a sincere voice, hoping Hanna would understand just how much that had meant to him._

" _You were spying on me, the whole time!" She said in a hurt tone._

" _No not the whole time." He said moving closer to her_

" _You gave her your locker combination!" Hanna said in a raised voice._

" _That's how she gave me the flash drive."_

" _What was on it when she got it back?" Hanna asked now in a softer voice, leaning back slightly and crossing her arms in front of her protectively as if she didn't want to know the answer to her own question._

" _Junk, she thinks its the log off your cellphone, but it's not." he explained and watched when she shook her head in disbelieve._

" _No." He said desperately, trying to make her understand, it was beyond important that she understand how she had changed him and how much he had changed for her. Caleb reached out to her, reaching towards her shoulder in order to pull her close but she beat him to it. Slapping his arm away._

" _Don't touch me!" She said venomously, looking at him in anger._

 _He stared at her, this is not how he had envisioned his confession would go. He thought they would be able to work it out, that he could show Hanna how he had changed for her, that he stopped helping Jenna the moment he knew Hanna was more than just a pretty girl, but the resentful look in her eyes was enough for Caleb to step back and grab his bag off the counter reluctantly, every cell in his being not wanting to leave her kitchen without working things out. He finally managed to throw his rucksack over his shoulder and stepped towards Hanna, looking at her once more, battling with himself if he should say the things he wanted to say to her. To show her how much she meant to him._

 _Their eyes met, her blue eyes furiously fixed on his and he knew this was something he could fix in one night. Against his will he stepped aside, walking slowly towards the front door of the Marin house and slamming the door in his way out._

 _He had seen her at school one last time when she asked him if he knew more about Jenna. How he had wished he did so he could help her find out why Jenna wanted to find a key so bad. As soon as he watched her walls coming down when her curiosity peaked trying to find out more about jenna had he told her how much he was missing her. Not just the warmth and safety of a house to come home to after being back to sleeping in the streets ever since they broke up, but the way she had showed him unconditional love._

 _She had told him he would get over it. He knew he never would, but he could try. Staying in Rosewood and close to Hanna wouldn't make things better. He would try and concentrate on something else in his life for a while and try to get over her, although he already knew he never would._

 _He had bought his ticket to Arizona from the last of his money that he had hidden in his sock, something he had learned was the safest place after spending too many nights on the streets and this time it had proved no different. The next morning, his rucksack he had been holding in his arms and his belongings he had stuffed carelessly in the pockets of his coat had been stolen. The most expensive items his wallet and his phone but he would get over that. As he tried to find out what else was missing he found a lost screwdriver that he once used at the Marin house. He chuckled at the memory until visions of an angry Hanna overtook his mind._

 _He pulled out a pad and paper and started writing, the last method he could think off to make Hanna listen to him now he no longer had his phone._

" _Dear Hanna,_

 _God I feel like such an idiot writing you this letter, but if there is anything I can do or say to make you forgive me, I'll take it._

 _I am so sorry for what I did Hanna. I was being stupid and I didn't know the real you when Jenna offered me that money. The moment I got to know the real you, you became so much more important to me than all the money in this world._

 _You not just opened up your house to me but also your heart, something that I haven't come across that much in my life. For the first time in my life I was able to feel at home somewhere and with someone._

 _Hanna I am begging you to forgive me, it's all that matters to me. You are all I have._

 _I love you,_

 _Caleb_

 _P.s. I have a new phone, I've enclosed my new number. Please call me."_

Caleb gripped the steering wheel tightly. Never had the memory of his last day with Hanna been more clear than now and he still felt angry at himself for leaving. Not just leaving Rosewood or Hanna, but not staying to fight for them. Unknowingly walking away from the baby he wouldn't know existed until yesterday.

Caleb's short nails dug the steering wheel when he thought about Aubrey. The moment his mother had told him William managed to trace Hanna, Ashley and Aubrey to one of his hotels this morning, he jumped in the car. He was determined to get to know the baby he knew in his heart had to be his.

He glanced at the sign for the exit towards Montecito as he cursed himself for screwing up yet again. Not only driving away from Hanna, driving away from his own flesh and blood just like his mother and father had done all those years ago. Aubrey not growing up with her father, or not knowing him was the last thing he would want. He knew all too well what it was like not knowing your own family. Caleb slammed on the break and turned his car around, speeding back towards the hotel, back towards his daughter.

 **XxxxxxX**

 _Review?_

 _Let me know if you want a preview_


	4. Chapter 4

**Unexpected**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Daddy**

This day was turning out even worse for Hanna than she had anticipated. When her mother had suggested they go back to the beach with Aubrey that morning, she fully expected for Caleb to turn up looking for them, and she had been relieved when he never did. They headed back to the hotel ready for some lunch as Aubrey slept peacefully in her stroller, so she and her mom could have a quiet lunch.

But then Caleb had appeared in the lobby of their hotel, just like she had expected him to do. He had asked about Aubrey and she couldn't help herself when she got mad at him for asking. Mad that he could ever doubt her, suggesting she had been with anyone else but him. As if their first time hadn't been special to her. She never meant to end up in an argument with him, but before she could ask him what he had meant about the letter he kept mentioning, he had taken off leaving a confused Hanna behind.

As if things couldn't get worse, she had received quite the scolding from her mother when she told her about the fight she and Caleb had. Her mother forced her to swallow her pride and told her to fix things with Caleb now that she had the chance.

That's when Hanna found herself quickly checking on Aubrey one last time, who was still sleeping soundly, and leaving the room with a nod to her mother, not ready to give her a pass on scolding her about something so close to her heart. Hanna swallowed hard, thinking about what she would say to Caleb when she was face to face with him. If he would even open the gate to his house after their last encounter.

Hanna reached the outside of the hotel and made her way to the parking lot when she spotted an all too familiar face at the other end of the parking lot. The person striding towards her with a blazing look of determination on his face until he saw her staring at him. His face softened the moment he saw her looking at him.

"Hey." She said when Caleb came closer. Not really sure how he was going to react to her.

"Hey." He said. Making his way towards her and stopping next to her car as he reached her.

"What are you doing back here?" Hanna asked, although knowing Caleb and his history she should have known she would be seeing him soon. She never expected it to be this soon however.

"Hanna I really want to see Aubrey." He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"I was here earlier to see her and then, you know…" He trailed off, regretting taking off at all now.

"But I can't go home without seeing her, she's my daughter." He continued, looking at her intently when he noticed her hand lingering on the open car door and glanced inside the car to see if Aubrey was there.

Hanna's heart sank at his words, she wasn't ready to step into that unfamiliar territory. Knowing full well Caleb would never be okay with just seeing Aubrey. He'd want to be completely involved in her live, their life.

"Were you going somewhere? He asked, keeping her from answering his request to see Aubrey as he glanced at the bag over her shoulder.

"Uhm… well I was actually on my way to see you." She admitted quietly.

"You were?" He asked in surprise. All kinds of scenarios ran in his head on his way back to her hotel, but none of them had been close to this.

"Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you…" She started, but she wasn't so sure what to say next. Hanna thought she would have some more time to think about what she was going to say to Caleb on the drive to his house before she had to face him.

"I wanted to talk to you because the last time we left things unresolved we didn't see each other again for about 18 months." She said apprehensively, not daring to look into his eyes. It was a painful reminder of how much he had already missed of Aubrey's life.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, looking at her and waiting for her to meet his eyes as an uncomfortable silence between them grew. How did things ever get so awkward between them? He wondered.

As soon as she managed to look back up at him, she hated seeing the somber look in his eyes. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, it didn't leave her unperturbed seeing Caleb so sad.

"I think Aubrey is still sleeping, but why don't you come up to our room so you can at least see her." She suddenly said, making up her mind on the spot. Understanding she was the only one standing in between Caleb and his wish to see Aubrey. He deserved to get to know his daughter and she knew she made the right decision when she watched his entire face break into a massive smile.

"Really?" He breathed in disbelief, his eyes glowing at the thought of finally seeing Aubrey. His grin grew even wider as he watched Hanna nod at his question.

They stood beside each other silently. It took a while for the elevator to come and neither Hanna or Caleb knew what to say to each other, the tension between them growing thicker with every passing second. It didn't help that Caleb couldn't stop himself from looking at Hanna, noticing how good she looked. She didn't look that different from when they were together and he had to stop himself from letting his eyes trail over her body. The blue dress hugging her in all the right places and showing off her curves. Although the dress was quite modest, it still messed with his head as he remembered exactly what was underneath.

The arrival off the elevator offered him the distraction he so desperately needed.

"What floor?" He asked as he stepped in after Hanna. Trying to make some sort of conversation and working hard not to look at her exposed legs.

"Eleventh." She said, smiling at him politely, the tension incapacitating her from being able to form any words.

"Aren't you afraid of heights?" Caleb chuckled. Remembering how squeamish she would get about even having to stand on a ladder.

"I am." She smiled. The tension finally deflating a little bit. "I try to stay away from the balcony as much as possible." She laughed.

"And miss out on an amazing view?" He joked.

"I'm sure I'll survive without it. Besides, I rather go down the beach or swimmingpool than watch it from the window." She said, finally stepping out onto the floor as they arrived and walked the short distance to the room. She reached for they key card and took a small moment to take a breath to calm her nerves that resurfaced before opening the door to her room.

"Mom?" She said in a quiet voice poking her head around and stepping into the room spotting her mother on the bed reading a book who put it away the moment Hanna came in.

"I brought a visitor." She said before her mother could ask what she was doing here.

She looked over her shoulder at Caleb and held the door open wider for him so he could enter the room.

"Caleb?" Ashley said, sitting up straight on the bed and putting her book to the side.

"Hi Ms Marin." He said shyly. Remembering the way she had ran after Hanna when she had seen him walk into the garden yesterday.

"I ran into Caleb in the parking lot." Hanna interjected before her mom could unleash any uncomfortable questions like she always did.

"He came over to see Aubrey."

"She's still sleeping." She said kindly, understanding anxious Caleb was to see Aubrey.

"I assumed, but he hasn't seen her and she won't wake up anyway." Hanna said, not wanting to make Caleb feel like he shouldn't be there.

She beckoned him to follow her towards the extra room where Aubrey was sleeping.

Hanna pointed Caleb towards the crib at the end of the room where Aubrey was sleeping soundly on her back, her arms resting on either side of her head. She watched Caleb as he walked closer towards the crib and peeked inside. He stood there motionlessly for a while as he finally got to see her. He stared in amazement at his baby girl, his daughter. Her face looked relaxed and body so small and still. He was afraid to move or make any noise, afraid anything would wake her up. He looked at her for a very long time, staring at her delicate features as his eyes got adjusted to the dimmed room.

"She's beautiful." Caleb whispered in awe, not tearing his eyes away from Aubrey who remained sleeping. He took in the wispy blonde hair, the long lashes and her small mouth that was opened slightly as she took the tiniest breaths. His eyes travelled to her defined cheekbones that he himself had inherited from his own mother. A clear Rivers trait. He chuckled softly when he spotted a silver and pearl bracelet around her chubby wrist that was resting next to her head. Of course Hanna would put jewelry on her as soon as she could.

"I know you might not be able to tell right now because she's sleeping." Hanna said in a soft voice. "But she looks so much like you." She told him with a smile.

"That's what my mom said." Caleb said. Remembering when his mother had told him everything she could tell him about Aubrey. "She said she reminds her of me when I was that age."

They smiled at each other and their gazes locked. It was the first time they finally managed to look into each other's eyes without either one of them feeling like shouting or running away.

"Can I stay here, until she wakes up?" Caleb asked, his eyes travelling automatically back at Aubrey again. He couldn't get enough of her and he hated the thought of having to leave her already.

"In this room?" Hanna asked slightly surprised, glancing at he unused queen bed in the middle of the room.

"No. I meant, I can go downstairs and wait in the lobby until she wakes up."

"You don't need to do that."

"Hanna I want to. She's really cute when she's sleeping but I really want to get to know her, see what she is like when she is awake."

Hanna chuckled at his confession. Like she had expected, Caleb was not one to back down from Aubrey and she had to admit she was happy he wasn't. As much as she had worried about him getting to know Aubrey, she knew it had been her own irrational fears of losing her that made her determined to keep him away from Aubrey.

"I meant, you won't have to go down to the lobby. You can stay here with us until she wakes."

"Hanna?" Her mother's voice came from the doorframe, poking her head around. "I'm going to go downstairs for some fresh air, are you okay staying with Aubrey or do you have any plans?" She asked.

Hanna knew very well her mother had overheard their conversation through the open door, which was clearly the reason she was leaving, but Hanna decided to let it slide. It would be less awkward without her mother there.

"It's fine mom, I'm staying here." Hanna said looking at her mother who made her way out and motioned for Caleb to follow her to the room she shared with her mother. Leaving Aubrey to sleep.

"Very smooth." Caleb said as he watched the door close behind Ashley.

Hanna laughed uncomfortably. "Well it would have been a bit awkward anyway with my mom here, don't you think?"

"I bet she hates me." Caleb said.

"What, my mom. Why would she hate you?" Hanna asked grabbing the both of them a drink from the mini bar, handing one to Caleb before sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Getting her 16 year old daughter pregnant for starters, I bet she was pretty livid." Caleb said solemnly.

"She was at first," Hanna sighed, thinking back to when she had to tell her mother she was pregnant.

"She wasn't happy and she did tell me I needed to think about my options, even though she would support me with whatever I would choose." Hanna confessed, her voice breaking as she imagined having to miss out on being a mother to Aubrey.

"Did you consider not having her?" Caleb asked softly.

"Only for a second when my mother mentioned it. But it wasn't something I wanted. I knew I wanted to keep my baby no matter what, even if I had to do everything by myself." Hanna admitted.

"Shit." Caleb said. The full extend of how hard it must have been for Hanna crashing down around him. Up until now he hadn't thought about how it must have been for her to find out she was pregnant at 16.

"What, why?" Hanna asked apprehensively, interpreting his reaction completely the wrong way.

"Shit because I should have been there Hanna." He said with a pained expression on his face. "I should have been there when you found out, I should have been there to take care of you and provide for you." He said with an edge in his voice.

"I should have been there when Aubrey was born." He whispered, sitting down in the chair next to the desk he had been leaning against and angrily running his hands through his hair.

Hanna watched him as his frustration became apparent and she was scared he was going to leave again. Before he could think about leaving, there was one thing Hanna needed to know. Something that had been bothering her all day.

"Caleb?" She started in a small voice.

"This morning you asked me about a letter. What letter?"

 **XxxxxxX**

 **Preview? Review? Let me know**


	5. Chapter 5

**Unexpected**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Daddy and me**

" _Caleb?" She started in a small voice._

" _This morning you asked me about a letter. What letter?"_

Caleb looked at Hanna in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"My mom told me that before you left, you came to the house to drop off a letter for me and that she told you to give it to me personally. I never got one but you keep talking about it as if I did." Hanna explained.

"I gave it to Mona, she said she would give it to you." Caleb said, his eyebrows raised in confusion, not sure what Hanna was getting at.

Hanna stared at him for a while with an unreadable look on her face before she suddenly groaned loudly, running her hands over her face, rubbing them a few times before looking at him again.

"Shit Caleb! Mona… she uhm… She wasn't well. She wasn't well at all, turns out she was having some serious mental issues. She got admitted to Radley a while back, and isn't even allowed visitors. I think she's still in a high security ward there."

"What are you saying Hanna?" Caleb asked, not sure how all of this had anything to do with the letter he wrote to Hanna.

"Look it's a very long story Caleb, but turns out Mona wasn't exactly the amazing friend I thought she was. Turns out actually she wasn't my friend at all.." Hanna trailed off looking down. "She was secretly bullying me and my friends and she probably burnt that letter you gave her. I can assure you she never gave it to me."

Calebs heart sank at those words, realising that he left Rosewood thinking that even after all the things he told her in that letter, she still watched him leave. He had left Rosewood with a broken heart that night, thinking that Hanna would never forgive him, not even when he had laid it all on the table and written how much he had cared about her.

"So what was in that letter? Was it important?" Hanna asked.

He didn't say anything. Hanna watched him as he stood up and reached behind him. Hanna looked on as he pulled his wallet out from the back of his jeans and opened it, pulling out a ragged piece of paper.

"Don't ask me why I still have this, but I could never get rid of it." He said handing her the piece of paper.

She looked at him questionly as she accepted it from his outstretched hands.

"This is not what the original letter looked like, but the words remained the same in the one I gave to Mona" He explained and sat back in the chair, watching Hanna nervously as she was finally able to read the letter he had written to her all those months ago. Glad he had taken several drafts to write the original letter before he was happy enough with the outcome, stuffing the rest of the previously written letters in the pockets of his coat.

Hanna sat hunched over on the bed, the letter with a few words crossed out in her hands as she read and processed every word carefully.

The letter wasn't very long but to Hanna it was the most meaningful thing he could have ever given her, besides Aubrey.

She read how much he regretted treating her the way he had before he got to know her. Of course she knew he did, but seeing it in writing meant everything to her. Hanna swallowed hard when she read how much she had meant to him and how she had changed his life, how opening her home to him had changed him forever. That he had finally got to feel at home somewhere for the first time in his life all because of her.

The words started to dance in front of her, making her relive their last conversation in her kitchen ever so vividly. She didn't need to see his apology in writing, she remembered every single word he had said to her back then. She had known then, in that significant moment in her kitchen how much remorse he had. Her anger and stubbornness momentarily taking over and letting him leave. One of the things she regretted deeply to this very day.

Hanna had to swallow hard as she got to the last bit of his letter. She blinked furiously when she tried to process the words that made her heart nearly beat out of her chest.

" _I love you."_

It was right there, in writing. Calebs scratchy writing. " _I love you."_

Hanna bit down on the inside of her cheeks, the ramifications of his words still bouncing around her head, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

She willed herself not to succumb to the emotions that were fighting to burst out of her. She tried so hard not to give in to all the " _what ifs_ " now running through her mind, but that deemed impossible. Her hands started to tremble and she blinked even harder trying the keep the tears at bay. The past 18 months flashed before her eyes. It took her a moment to notice that the tears she had been fighting against, were now falling down her face. Only when she felt Caleb sink down next to her on the bed, softly cupped her face and wiped away the tears with the pad of his thumb, was she made aware of the many tears still falling from her eyes.

She tried to look up at him to meet his gaze. Hanna needed to look into his eyes, to see what he was thinking, what he was feeling, but he was already pulling her towards him. The arm that he had wrapped around her shoulder gently pushed her to his chest where he held her closely as the tears kept falling, her shoulders shaking as she gave in to the knowledge of what Mona, or -A for that matter, had kept from her. How it had changed the course of their lives, Aubrey's life.

Caleb rubbed her back softly, leaning his head on top of hers as he felt the shocks of her cries subsiding and she finally relaxed in his embrace. The familiar sweet scent of her shampoo embracing him like a warm blanket. He could have stayed there forever, in that moment. But before he managed to get too comfortable she shifted in his arms.

He wasn't ready to let go of her when she pulled away from him, letting go of his shirt she had been clinging on to and wiping at her eyes furiously, sniffing loudly and doing everything to avoid his gaze.

"Han?" Caleb asked finally, breaking the silence. He looked at her but she didn't seem to hear him. Without warning Hanna stood up from the bed and walked towards the window, however not really seeing out of the window. Caleb watched her, unsure what to do next. He looked at her as she turned around slowly and finally looked at him, slightly nodding at the letter in her hands.

"So you did come to the festival to see me. To give me this letter?" Hanna asked, needing to know the full truth now and forever. Not the one planted in her head by Mona.

Caleb stood up as well and slowly made his way towards her.

"Of course I did Hanna." He said, stopping in front of her, leaving an acceptable amount of space between them even though he craved to be much closer to her.

"I went to your house to see you. And if you didn't want to see me I'd make sure to leave that letter at your house, but your mother encouraged me to go and see you at the festival, to give it to you personally."

"She told me you didn't need another guy walking out of your life without saying goodbye." He whispered. Hating as he understood how much it must have hurt her to think that he did.

"When I arrived at the festival Mona said you weren't ready to see me yet, but she promised me that she would make sure you got your letter. So later that night when I saw you, I assumed you read it but everything I said didn't matter to you." He said, his voice breaking at his own words, remembering how much it had taken out of him to actually bear his feelings to her like he had.

"Like you were over it, over us." He added, looking back at Hanna whose eyes were filling up with a fresh wave of tears. He watched as she shook her head ever so slightly, as if he was crazy to even think she could or would ever get over him like that.

Hanna let out a breath of relief, although she didn't feel relieved at all. She felt heavy hearted, devastated. The knowledge of everything Mona had kept from her crushing her spirit even more. The one person she had put so much trust in, kept the one good thing in her life away from her and kept on pretending to be her friend. Feeding her fibs about the boy that, without her knowledge, had told her he loved her and didn't want to let go of her until she herself had walked away from him leaving him no choice but to leave Rosewood for good.

"I can't believe Mona managed to ruin so much for me." Hanna whispered in small voice. "She told me that you only came by to ask to change for a $20,-"

"And you believed her?" Caleb asked her incredulously. Mona's stupid fimble lie was almost laughable, but Hanna didn't see the humour of the things.

"You hurt me Caleb! I felt like I didn't know you anymore."

"There has never been anyone in my life I shared more with than with you Hanna. You know me better than anyone."

"Not even your mom?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.

"She's trying." He said quietly.. Hanna understood it was something he clearly didn't want to discus by the way he was doing everything in his power to avoid her gaze, his eyes eventually falling on the letter in her hands.

"I meant every word of it Han." He said, his eyes glued to the letter and hoping she understood why he was bringing it up.

A tiny smile graced her lips. As if she could ever unsee the kind words that kept dancing in front of her eyes.

 _I love you._

"I really did Han," Caleb said reading the look on her face correctly.

Caleb might have meant it endearingly, but his words wiped the smile right off her face. He clearly just admitted that he had loved her once but undoubtedly those feelings were over now. Unlike her feelings for him. She knew she would never stop loving him, he had meant too much to her.

Before she had the chance to pluck up the courage to consider asking him what he meant with his words she stilled and stood up straight, turning her face towards the wall and scrunching up her eyes. Caleb was momentarily confused by her weird movement until he could hear why she suddenly felt silent.

The tiniest cries could be heard from the other side, and going off by Hanna's reaction he could tell it was Aubrey that had woken up, clearly crying for her mommy.

He suddenly felt a jolt of nervousness, a swarm of butterflies erupting in the pit of his stomach and he suddenly became more aware of himself. How was he supposed to act? Should he smile at Aubrey, should he reach out for her initiate any form of contact. Was she even old enough to show him what she wanted? Caleb didn't really know that much about young babies. Clay was already 2 years old when he found his mother.

Caleb bit his lip anxiously as he watched Hanna leave the room to grab Aubrey. He nervously wiped his hands on his jeans not sure what else to do than stand there awkwardly waiting for Hanna to come back.

He was about to meet his daughter and he couldn't be more nervous. All he had thought about all day was talking to Hanna and try to convince her to let him see Aubrey but he never considered what he was supposed to do if he would finally meet her. Honestly he had expected Hanna to put up more of a fight before she would let him see Aubrey.

Caleb shifted in hs position when he heard Aubrey's cries cease on the other side of the wall. He straightened up and licked his lips nervously staring at the door which Hanna had disappeared through, but they did not appear. Another long minute passed by and Caleb was getting anxious. What on earth could be wrong? Maybe Hanna was changing Aubrey's diaper? He decided to wait a little longer but the longer he waited, the more he started to worry.

After a moment of talking himself into walking in Aubrey's bedroom, he finally moved from his spot where he had been waiting and slowly made his way towards the door, determined to find out what was going on and to see if everything was okay.

He walked in the room and spotted Hanna instantly sitting on the queen bed, but stopped in his tracks when his eyes travelled to her semi exposed chest of their own accord and stared a few seconds too long. The entirety of her chest luckily shielded by Aubrey's head who she was nursing. Instinctively he covered his eyes and turned around to face the wall before removing his hands from his eyes.

"Oh my God Hanna I am so sorry!"

"It's fine." She said. "Nothing you haven't seen before right?" Hanna chuckled nervously.

"Right." He echoed embarrassed. Memories of seeing her naked for the first time flooding his brain. He shook his head, desperately trying to get rid of those visions. If there was ever a bad time to get a boner this would be it.

"Hanna, I'm going to wait in the other room okay?" He asked, although he was already out of the door before Hanna could reply.

 **XxxxxX**

Caleb had planned to apologise for his unfortunate interruption the moment Hanna would come back in the room, but as soon as she walked in with Aubrey in her arms he was lost for words.

Hanna had Aubrey's back against her chest so Caleb could see her clearly as soon as they entered. It was like time was standing still and every movement Hanna made was in slow motion when laid eyes on his daughter properly for the first time. He looked into her beautiful big brown eyes. Now he understood why his mother and Hanna had told him how much she looked like him. It wasn't just the eyes, it was her entire dainty little face, even with the dimples and the blonde hair she was clearly he's, clearly a Rivers if he ever seen one. To Caleb it felt like he had always known her.

His eyes were still on Aubrey when he realised how close Hanna had moved towards him. Unbeknownst to him, Hanna had observed him when he finally got to see Aubrey and couldn't stop smiling at the goofy grin that was plastered on his face.

As soon as they were close enough, Aubrey, who had been kicking her legs excitedly in Hanna's arms instantly reached out for Caleb.

Caleb looked at Aubrey for a moment before he understood what she wanted but then became very uncertain. He'd only manage to wrap his head around seeing her and now she was reaching for him. He glanced at Hanna uncertainly but she gave him an encouraging smile.

"Do you want to hold her?"

"Yeah." He breathed nervously thinking of ways he should be holding her properly.

Hanna lifted Aubrey up a tiny bit and handed her towards Caleb outstretched hands.

Caleb held her with one arm against his chest, the other hand supporting her back gently as he kept on staring at his baby as much as he could. Her sparkling brown orbs found his almost instantly and her face erupted in a bright smile as if she recognised him. Hanna couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she witnessed their interaction. She moved to stand next to Caleb to see Aubrey's reaction to meeting her daddy for the first time, her heart swelled as soon as she noticed the big smile on Aubrey's face, her eyes were glued to Caleb and looking at him as if he was the best thing in the world. She chuckled when Aubrey reached out to touch Caleb's stubble, rubbing her tiny hands over his scratchy chin before yanking her hands back giggling loudly, emanation chuckles from her parents.

"I know I always said I hated the word cute, but she is so cute Hanna." Caleb said not tearing his eyes away from his little girl and bouncing her around in his arms.

"She is." Hanna agreed quietly, watching Aubrey as well who was messing with a button on Caleb's shirt. She glanced at his face, his burrows frowned slightly as he kept observing Aubrey.

"You okay?" Hanna asked.

"I am, I was just… I don't know. I can't believe I had to miss out on her life up until now." Caleb admitted as he stroked a few strands of Aubrey's hair. This was something he wanted to talk to Hanna about the moment his mother had told him she suspected Aubrey to be his, but he didn't want to jeopardise not being able to see Aubrey by attacking Hanna with questions that might upset her.

"I'm really sorry about that Caleb. God if I would have known about your letter, your new phone number, things might have been so different now. I called you so many times. But by the time it went straight to voicemail every time I called I assumed you blocked me."

"Blocked you? Hanna why would I ever do that?"

"Well you never answered my calls, didn't read my messages so I just assumed…"

Caleb shook his head, his heart sinking. He still hated to think how their lives could have been so different without Mona and if all of his belongings didn't get stolen that night he slept on the streets. Before he could say anything he had to tighten his grip on Abrey who started to wriggle in his arms and made whining noises, although he had no clue as to why she was suddenly uncomfortable.

He looked at Hanna questioningly who was already reaching to grab Aubrey from his strong arms. "She usually becomes a bit restless if she's held too long, she likes to sit by herself or crawl around." Hanna explained simply as Caleb placed Aubrey carefully on the floor and watched her move around until she maneuvered herself on her knees and started to explore the room.

"She's quite the little adventurer isn't she?" Caleb asked as he watched Aubrey grab the corner of a bedsheet and pulling it all the way out.

"She is, it drives me insane sometimes." Hanna said, handing Aubrey a toy and tucking the bedsheet back in. "I think she might have gotten that from you because my mom said I wasn't like this at her age."

"I'll have to ask my mom." Caleb chuckled watching Aubrey picking up an empty wrapper and putting it in her mouth. Hanna reached her in a flash and pulled out the empty wrapper before packing Aubrey from the floor and placing her on her hip.

"Do you want to go to the beach with us? She'll have more room to move around instead of ransacking our hotel room."

"Or course." He smiled excitedly.

"Okay, could you keep an eye on her whilst I pack a bag?" Hanna asked apprehensively looking at Caleb to make sure he would be okay to look after her.

"You sure?" Caleb asked in surprise not believing his luck. It was more than he ever expected from today.

"Of course, and I'll be right there." She said pointing to Aubrey's room, but as soon as Hanna disappeared did Aubrey start screaming, not happy that her mommy was walking away from her.

Before Hanna could rush back to the room, Caleb had already reached Aubrey and picked her up from the floor. He sat down with her on one of the beds and tried to distract Aubrey with his keys, which to his relief worked like a treat.

"Wow how did you manage that?" Hanna said when she came back in the room and watched Caleb entertaining Aubrey on his lap as if it came naturally to him.

"It always worked with Clay when he was younger." He explained, thankful now that he had younger brothers. "He's my youngest brother." Caleb said making sure Hanna knew who he was talking about.

"I know." She said remembering the youngest boy that had been hanging off Claudia's leg when she went to the house.

"You must be so happy to have found your mother again." She said wondering about his life for the past 18 months.

"It's good." He said stiffly, not looking at her. It had been the second time today that Caleb had made it clear he didn't want to talk about his mother nor his new life. She was saved from thinking about the matter any further when the phone in their room rang loudly. Hanna looked at it in surprise before walking towards it and picking it up apprehensively.

"Hello?"

"Hanna?" A semi familiar voice asked.

"Yes this is Hanna Marin."

"Hanna, this is Claudia, Caleb's mom. How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Hanna replied politely.

"I'm good doll. I was wondering if Caleb is with you? He told me he was going to visit you and I can't seem to reach him."

"He is, just a second I'll get him." She said turning around to face Caleb. "It's your mom."

He looked at her surprised but stood up with Aubrey in his hands and handed her back to Hanna before he picked up the phone. He only listened for a while and made agreeable noises before saying goodbye to his mother and hanging up the phone, facing Hanna.

"I totally forgot I was promised to watch my brothers." He said dejectedly. Disappointed that he couldn't spend more time with Aubrey and Hanna. He was so excited when she suggested he accompany them to the beach. If he could he would spend every waking moment with his daughter.

"Oh okay." Hanna said, clearly disappointed as well. "Do you have to leave now?"

"Yeah, they have to go to some gala." He said glancing at Aubrey not ready to leave her, she had already unleashed new feelings in him he had never felt before. He felt such a strong attachment and protectiveness towards her that was stronger than anything he ever had experienced in his life. Against his will, he made his way towards the door, but made no effort to leave.

"Hanna can I come and see her tomorrow?" He asked. Desperate to see more of Aubrey and spend as much time with her as he could.

"Of course, what time?"

"Can I let you know?" Caleb asked, "I have to make sure I'm not working tomorrow."

"Sure," she said, following him towards the door where he stopped and scratched his head looking at her awkwardly. A clear sign of his nerves.

"Could I have your phone number, so I can let you know?"

"Oh right," she chuckled nervously, taking his phone from his outstretched hands and entered her phone number.

"Thanks, I will let you know." He said looking at Aubrey again who had crawled towards Hanna's feet and seemed to be trying to stand up by holding herself up by grasping Hanna's legs. He leaned over a bit and ruffled the few hairs on her head.

"Bye Aubrey, I'll see you tomorrow." He stood back up, even though he really wanted to lift her up in his arms and hold her tight against him, but he wasn't too sure what was acceptable at this stage.

"Row." Aubrey tried to echo his last word and it brought the biggest smile to his face as their eyes met, his heart leaping with unconditional love for his daughter.

"Wait," Hanna said, suddenly realising something. "How did your mom know to call here?" She asked curiously.

Caleb smiled, he wondered how it had taken Hanna this long to question it.

"My mother's husband William owns many of the hotels in the area. I asked him to find you and Aubrey after you came to the house. That's how I ended up in the lobby this morning and that's how my mom knew which room to call." He admitted, observing Hanna closely.

Hanna's heart fluttered a bit at his confession, he had made work of finding them as soon as he could, just like she told her mother he would. Although he seemed more guarded since she had seen him in Rosewood, his heart clearly remained the same.

"I'm glad you did." Hanna let slip before she could control herself and she looked up at him apprehensively. They stared at each other lengthily, Caleb's look unreadable for her. Yet the way he was looking at her didn't leave her perturbed and she felt a blush creeping up to her cheeks, hoping Caleb wouldn't notice. It seemed forever before he broke their uncomfortable silence.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.

Hanna nodded at him and he gave her a polite wave before leaving. She tried to say something, anything. But she was unable to utter any words. The way he had looked at her so intently left her weak at the knees and she hated that he still had this much influence on her. After all this time she had convinced herself she was over Caleb.

She watched him leave until he was no longer in sight, still rooted to the spot where they had their goodbyes only moments ago.

"Why is your daddy so good looking huh?" Hanna asked her baby who was fumbling with the straps of her sandals.

 **XxxxX**

 **I really hope Caleb meeting Aubrey lived up to everyone's expectations. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this. Of course there will be much more Aubrey and Caleb to come.**

 **As always I do and always will appreciate your reviews, they make my day!**

 **Preview? Let me know.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update and preview. I just started a new job and it's been so busy! Thank you again for the sweet reviews, I really love them all.**

 **I was totally binge watching Teen mom 2 all weekend long whilst writing this chapter, so that may have caused a bit more drama for this chapter.**

 **Guest, I'll try and include as many original Haleb scenes in this story, but this story is semi canon with the show as Hanna having a baby makes her life so different from the show's.**

 **FrenchBenzo, this one is for you.**

 **Unexpected**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Daddy**

 **Aria:** "I can't believe I haven't spoken to you guys in 3 days. How's everyone's holiday going?"

 **Emily:** "Pretty good, busy and it's hard work, but I'm having a better time than I thought I would."

 **Aria:** "So you'll built me a house too if I ever finish high school?"

 **Emily:** "Ha….ha. No."

 **Spencer:** "Hey guys! I hope everyone's holiday is better than mine. Melissa is driving me up the wall, Ian is still creepy AF. Everytime I try and sunbathe in the garden I catch him staring at me the pervert! Can't wait till leave for Cabo tomorrow and get away from them all."

 **Emily:** "Aren't they all going with you?"

 **Spencer:** "No, dad is working and Mr pervert and his prissy miss perfect are staying home. It's just me and mom."

 **Emily:** "How long are you staying?"

 **Spencer** : "Two weeks."

 **Aria:** "God Spence, how are you going to survive without your Toby?"

 **Spencer:** "With a LOT of facetime."

 **Emily:** "Naked facetime?"

 **Spencer:** "I'll let you know ;)"

 **Emily:** "Please don't!"

 **Spencer:** "You started it! If you're lucky I might even send you a screenshot."

 **Aria:** "I want one as well."

 **Aria:** "Of Toby not you… In case you were wondering.

 **Spencer:** "I wasn't wondering and I'm not sharing."

 **Aria:** "Sharing is caring."

 **Emily:** "How about you start sharing Aria?"

 **Spencer:** "Yeah Aria, how is summer school going, have you had any extra lessons from Mr Fitz?"

 **Aria:** "Haven't seen him. I can't believe he never told me about Jackie."

 **Hanna:** "He's such an ass."

 **Aria:** "Oh hi Hanna, you are alive! Where the hell have you been?"

 **Emily:** "Hannnaaaaaaaaa, omg where have you been, how is the holiday?"

 **Spencer:** "Hanna, how is the holiday. How is my little Aubrey doing? Did she cry on the plane?"

 **Hanna:** "Calm down guys, what's with all the questions?"

 **Spencer:** "Well you've been awol for days, you didn't even sent us any photo's of Aubrey's first holiday yet."

 **Hanna:** *Hanna shared a photo.*

 **Spencer:** "Awwwwwwwwww omg I love her soooo much! I actually awwed out loud and now my mom is looking at me funny."

 **Aria:** "Oohh she's grown so much, I miss her already. She is rocking that bathing suit her favorite auntie bought her though."

 **Emily:** "I think the summer hat her actual favorite auntie bought her, looks even better than that bathing suit."

 **Spencer:** "She looks so tanned! Did you put sunscreen on her Hanna?"

 **Hanna:** "Of course I did Spence, it's in her blood, duh."

 **Emily:** "Bet you're looking like a lobster right now."

 **Hanna:** "Ha ha..."

 **Aria:** "So give us an update, how's the holiday? Is it hard being there with Aubrey? Met any hot guys yet?"

 **Emily:** "Or girls ;)?"

 **Hanna:** "Neither, but I do have something to tell you guys."

 **Aria:** "OMG what!"

 **Spencer:** "What?"

 **Emily:** "You did meet a hot girl?"

 **Aria:** "Hanna?"

 **Spencer:** "Han? It's been one whole minute, you can't leave us hanging like this."

 **Emily:** "She's not typing, where did she go?"

 **Spencer:** "I'll call her."

 **Emily:** "No! Don't call, I want to hear this as well."

 **Aria:** "Me three."

 **Emily:** "She's writing!"

 **Spencer:** "Finally, it's been 8 minutes since dropping a bomb on us, what the hell."

 **Emily:** "I bet there's not actually anything crazy going on, probably a fashion issue :P."

 **Hanna:** "Caleb is here."

 **Aria:** "Wait! What?"

 **Spencer:** "What?"

 **Emily:** "What do you mean Caleb is here? What is going on?"

 **Spencer:** "Hanna was that a typo? What do you mean Caleb is here?"

 **Hanna:** "Can we Ovoo or Skype?"

 **Spencer:** "Yes now!"

 **Hanna:** "Emily can you skype?"

 **Emily:** "In 3 minutes, just set up the call."

 **Aria:** "Spencer?"

 **Spencer:** "Already on it."

"Hi guys!" Spencer yelled and waved excitedly the very moment everyone managed to get in front of their screens and they finally managed to see each other again.

"Hanna start talking! What do you mean with Caleb is here? Is he there with you, in your room?" She added in whispered tones. Looking at Hanna intently.

"No." She chuckled. He's not here here, but he's in the area. He lives in California now."

"Wait, move back a bit." Emily said, scrunching up her face.

"You've seen him?" She asked incredulously. Not understanding how Hanna had failed to tell them such important news. "Go back and tell us everything from the beginning."

"The first full day we were here, my mom took Aubrey to the beach and I stayed back to unpack and relax a little because Aubrey was a nightmare on the plane. So my mom came back to the hotel telling me she met this really kind lady on the beach who invited us to her house for a barbeque that night, but I told my mom that was way too weird."

"And how has this anything to do with Caleb?" Emily asked confused.

"I'm getting there, I need to build up the suspense."

"No you don't! You need to get to the good stuff." Aria said hurriedly who had been completely silent up until this point.

"Okay okay." So I give in to my mom agreeing to go to this barbeque. We drive up to this ladies house and oh my God, she lived in this fucking mansion. Anyway, she lets us in and introduces us to her husband and two kids.

We started to settle down and I was about to tell my mom how she had been right going to this barbeque, but then as if something made me, I look up and see someone walking into the garden and it's none other than Caleb!"

Collective gasps could be heard at Hanna's last words and she could see Aria's big eyes bulging.

"Caleb?!" Caleb was there, what was he doing there?"

"God Hanna that's crazy. What are the odds, what did you do?" Spencer screeched loudly before Hanna could answer Aria.

"I ran for it." Hanna said as if it was the most obvious thing in the word.

"I grabbed Aubrey and left the house as fast as I could. If he would have taken one look at Aubrey he would known within seconds that he had a daughter."

"You didn't." Emily said with a sigh.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Walk up to him and say: Hi Caleb, nice to see you, oh by the way, remember when you took my virginity, you also got me pregnant that night and now we have a daughter."

"I didn't mean it like that, but running away was a bit drastic." Emily said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"That's all I could think of." Hanna shrugged.

"So what happened next?" Spencer asked urging Hanna on, she needed all the details.

"Well yesterday Caleb came to the hotel to find us, but we ended up having an argument."

"Why?" Aria asked.

"Because the first thing he did, was asking if Aubrey was his. He had talked to his mom after I had ran off, and of course his mom had seen Aubrey all day that day at the beach. So after talking to Caleb, she put two and two together and told him she thought Aubrey was his." Hanna summed up in a bored voice.

"Besides the fact that Aubrey looks like a girly yet cuter and chubbier version of Caleb." Spencer added.

"She's not chubby." Emily said offended.

"It's just baby fat." Hanna agreed. "And it's damn cute." She added.

"So wait, the woman your mom met at the beach, is Caleb's mother who lives in a mansion?" Spencer asked needing to get all the details right.

"Yes, with his stepfather and two half brothers." Hanna confirmed.

"Wow, how the hell did that happen?" Aria asked .

"I don't really know, I've asked him about it, but he always changes the subject when I do."

"So, have you seen him since the fight?" Emily asked.

"Of course, you know what Caleb is like." Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "He came back to the hotel later that day and asked me if he could see Aubrey."

"And what did you say?" Spencer gasped.

"Well he was calmed down from our earlier fight and I was already on my way to his house to talk things over because my mom made me, so yeah."

"How was it?" Spencer nearly whispered.

"Honestly? It was pretty damn cute and Aubrey seems to like him."

"Wow." Aria breathed.

"How was he with Aubrey?" Spencer asked. "I can't imagine Caleb with a baby." She chuckled.

"Better than I expected. I think a part of me expected him to be a bit awkward with her, but it seemed to come so natural to him. I think having two small brothers helps."

"How old are his brothers?"

"About 5 and 3 I think."

"So Han, Spencer started nervously. "Has he even explained why he left Rosewood in the first place?" Spencer asked apprehensively. The last time Hanna had even been able to hear or mention the name Caleb, she ended up crying for hours and Spencer had to hide all the ice cream in the house to keep Hanna from devouring it all.

"Mona." Hanna said suddenly venomously, bile rising in her throat at the thought of what Mona had done and bulldozing any chance there might have been for Hanna and Caleb to reconcile.

"Wait, so Mona got to him as well before she got admitted to Radley?" Aria asked in shock.

"Yeah." Hanna said, feeling the tears prickle in her eyes.

"So what really happened, what did she do?" Emily asked apprehensively having seen Hanna's face drop the moment Mona's name was mentioned.

"Can I tell you guys later? My mom just finished giving Aubrey a bath and I want to put her to bed myself."

"Can we see her?" Emily screeched excitedly.

"Of course silly, hang on I'll get her." Hanna said. Jumping off the bed to help her mother getting Aubrey dressed and rushed over to show Aubrey to her friends.

 **XxxxxxX**

Hanna had been very happy for the distraction her friends offered that day. Ever since Caleb had left that afternoon she'd felt unsettled. She didn't regret letting Caleb see Aubrey, but seeing him again and letting him get so close to her, to Aubrey made her anxious.

What on earth would happen next? Caleb had sent her a text just after she had said goodbye to her friends asking her if she wanted to come over later that night so they could talk. Presumably about Aubrey.

Only two days ago Caleb wasn't even in their lives yet and she never thought he would become a part of their lives again. Not until Aubrey would start asking questions about not having a father in her life. It had been something she dreaded whenever she thought about Aubrey growing older and their future, but she always managed to put it to the back of her mind as Aubrey was still so young.

Hanna wanted to tell Caleb no, not tonight and that they should take things slow, give herself some time to get used to him being back. Hanna didn't even have any time to get to terms of Caleb knowing about his daughter, nor what his role in their lives should be.

But once again her mother had been the annoying voice of reason. Ashley had tried to make Hanna see things from Caleb's point of view, trying to make her understand how Caleb must be feeling and how he probably had a million questions about her life for the past 18 months. Just as much as Hanna had been wondering about Caleb's life for the past 18 months.

Her curiosity fuelled by Caleb's apprehension to talk about it.

 **XxxxX**

Hanna looked at herself in the rearviewmirror of the car, making sure for what felt like the millionth time that she looked presentable. She licked her lips nervously and glanced up at the massive house. Butterflies erupted in the pit of her stomach, but she was pretty sure it was all because of the nerves.

She got out of the car and slowly walked to the gate. She rang the doorbell on the intercom and it didn't take long before it was answered.

"Hello?" Came a small voice, either from James or Clay. She wasn't sure.

"Hi, it's Hanna. Caleb's friend." She announced.

"Yes." The voice replied, quickly followed by the whirring sound of the gate.

By the time she got to the door, James was joined by Caleb and Clay. The latter hanging off Caleb's back.

"Hey Hanna." Caleb said kindly. "Come in, we're still watching a movie but it's nearly over, hope you don't mind?"

"We're watching Jumanji!" James piped up excitedly, have you ever seen it Hanna?"

"I have, I used to watch it a lot with my dad when I was younger."

"Caleb made popcorn, do you like popcorn?" He asked as he followed Caleb and Clay to a beautifully decorated room to the side of the house.

Hanna watched as Caleb peeled Clay from his back and placed him back on the couch and handed him the popcorn. James quickly joined Clay, digging in the bowl and stuffing a fist full in his mouth. Caleb watched his actions and chuckled before looking back at Hanna.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Euhm sure, what do you have?" She asked shyly., not sure what to do with herself. Every time she was in close proximity of Caleb she started to feel nervous and unsure of herself.

"Not really sure, I'll have a look. He said leading her to the kitchen.

"Coke?" He asked after staring at the contents for a moment.

"Is it diet?"

"Sure." He smiled handing her a can of diet coke and grabbing a regular for himself.

"How's Aubrey?" He suddenly asked, taking Hanna by surprise.

"She's good. Hanna said with a big smile. It always made her happy when thoughts about Aubrey filled her mind.

"We went for a walk after your visit and we took her out for dinner tonight, which actually went pretty great considering she usually wants food as soon as she sees or smells it." Hanna said making Caleb laugh.

"My mom gave her a bath but I put her to bed myself before I came here. I always want to spend as much time with her as I can."

Caleb nodded at that but the massive smile that had formed on his face before, quickly fell again at her last words. She wasn't sure what to do or say next. She felt like whenever she brought up Aubrey it hurt him as much as it brought him happiness.

"Could you ehm, could you bring these to James and Clay?" Caleb asked handing her two smaller plastic cups with Disney characters on them. "I'll be right there with our drinks, I forgot I need to do something."

"Sure." She said apprehensively, but didn't move. She wasn't so sure this was the right time to turn her back on Caleb. Every time she felt like they connected he instantly pulled away from her.

Before Hanna could decide if she should stay or leave, Caleb had already turned around and made his way through the french doors into the darkness of the garden, leaving her no choice but to go back to the TV room with James and Clay.

The moment she came back James looked at her excitedly. "Do you want some popcorn as well Hanna?" He asked, trying to hand her some popcorn he had clasped in his little hand.

"Thank you." She said kindly giving him a warm smile and taking the popcorn from him. She tried to relax, but kept her ears pitched for any sound of Caleb coming back inside. She did hear a faint thumping sound that seemed to come from outside but nothing that sounded like a door being opened. Hanna tried to concentrate on the movie, but every once in awhile she turned to glance towards the hallway that lead the kitchen.

"Caleb is outside playing with my baseball bat." James said, having followed her gaze.

"I'm going to check on him for a bit okay? Will you two be okay?" She asked, not questioning how James knew what Caleb was up to.

"Yup." He said his eyes back going on the screen.

It wasn't long until Hanna located Caleb in the dimly lit garden, having followed the sound of the bat hitting its target ever so often.

"Hey." She said quietly just as Caleb took a forceful swing at the batting pole.

"Hey." He said after a while, letting the bat drop from his hands and faced her.

"Are you okay?" She asked nervously, although it was very clear to her he wasn't.

He shrugged but didn't speak immediately. He took a breath and looked at her. "I don't really know Hanna. I feel like everything is wrong at the moment."

"How so?"

"Gosh Hanna I don't know. I feel like I have a million questions about Aubrey I have no answers to. I can't stop my mind from wondering about her every single second of my day. So many questions about her are constantly running through my mind that I hardly have the time to process them all." He admitted sadly.

"Today on the way back home, I suddenly realised that I don't even know when her birthday is! I am her father and I don't even know even know when she was born!" He said in a much louder voice now.

"I don't know how the birth was, who was there with you, what she looked like when she was born, what kind of baby she she likes to eat or what she doesn't like.I don't even know If her personality is more like yours or mine?"

"I feel so close to her and yet I hardly know anything about her." Caleb said, letting out a huge sigh, aggressively running his hands through his long hair and looking at Hanna desperately. Clearly it had been bothering him all day.

"Caleb I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you felt this way. I thought you seeing Aubrey today was something you really wanted, I really thought it made you happy."

"It was, it did. But it also made me realise everything I did miss Hanna. I already missed 10 full months of her life and your entire pregnancy. If I would have known about it I would have been there every step of the way." He said heatedly.

"I know that."

"Do you really?" He asked softly, moving closer to her and looking at her intently. He wanted to make sure she knew he would have never left her if he'd known about her pregnancy. If she had managed to contact him, he would have been on the first plane back to make sure he'd be there for them. He would have done anything for his family.

"Of course I do." Hanna whispered, and in her heart she knew it was the truth. Especially with the history he had with his own family. She knew all too well how much that had hurt him and how it had shaped his life.

"And to answer your first question, she was born on the 10th of August."

"That's a good date." He smiled.

"Is it?"

"Well it has a nice ring to it."

"In the end it was a good day." She chuckled, thinking back to the day she brought her little princess into the world.

"So how was it. Giving birth I mean?" He asked greedily.

"How much do you want to know?" Hanna asked thinking back to the birth and wondering how many details she could tell him without scarring him for life.

"You can tell me everything, I want you to tell me so it feels like I was there." He said, his eyes gleaming with the anticipation of getting to know as much as he could.

Before Hanna could make up her mind, the french doors of the kitchen banged open and James stood there looking up at the both of them.

"Caleb, Clay is sleeping."

"Shit, Caleb muttered under his breath and strode towards the tv room, Hanna following suit.

"I should have put them to bed already. It's way past their bedtime." Caleb explained picking up Clay from the couch who remained asleep.

"I'm pretty sure James doesn't mind that much." Hanna said quietly watching the little boy take a big gulp from his drink and digging back into the popcorn. His eyes glued to the screen.

"Hanna, I'm going to bring him to bed. I'll be right back." Caleb said nodding his head towards a sleeping Clay in his arms. She watched him walk off, not missing how cute Caleb looked, holding Clay with one arm and rubbing his back softly as Clay let out a tiny snore.

"Okay." She said, but Caleb was already gone.

Hanna sat back in the couch next to James silently, grabbing a few kernels from the bowl absentmindedly, until James broke the silence.

"Hanna?" He asked, looking at her intently with his big round blue eyes which were so unlike Caleb's.

"Are you Caleb's new girlfriend?"

"Why would you ask that?" Hanna chuckled, wondering nervously what James meant with _new girlfriend._

"Because Kira sometimes comes over to watch movies with us, but now you are here watching movies with us." He explained in a child like way, but Hanna understood the meaning of his words very clearly.

"I'm not his girlfriend, just an old friend from school." Hanna explained kindly, although her heart sank to the pit of her stomach at his words.

"Oh." James said, clearly thinking about something, his eyebrows scrunching up on his forehead as he thought about something and Hanna knew there was more to come. She was dreading what else James might have to tell her.

"Were you like his best friend in his school?"

"Something like that."Hanna said shortly, her mind still on this Kira person, whoever she was.

"Why? Did Caleb say something about that?" Now curious as to why this little boy was asking so many questions.

"No, but he used to have this picture underneath his pillow of you and him." He giggled. "I found it when I wanted to watch transformers in his bed and he got really mad at me for looking at it."

"How do you know it was me in the photo and not Kira?"

"Kira's hair is like mommy's and you have these things in your cheeks." He said poking his fingers in his cheeks where dimples would be if he had any.

"Kira doesn't have those." He said continuously poking his cheeks and looking very cute doing so.

"James, come on let's go. Bedtime." Came Caleb's voice from behind them and James whipped around.

Hanna stayed where she was and kept staring at the screen. She couldn't face Caleb, not yet.

She _knew_ Caleb had heard most of what James just told her and she didn't want Caleb see the obvious disappointment written all over her face, she needed a minute to compose herself.

James sighed and slipped off the couch, giving Hanna a feeble wave and bit her a quiet goodnight, before disappearing from her sight as well.

Hanna sunk back in the couch the moment she assumed it was safe enough to do so and groaned.

Of course Caleb had a girlfriend, it wasn't as if he owed her anything.

They had broken up and hadn't seen each other for the past 18 months. He was at liberty to be with whoever he wanted, although that didn't make the thought of Caleb being with someone else any easier.

 **XxxxX**

Caleb was back faster this time. He made his way straight to Hanna and sat down on the couch facing her, clearly determined to discuss what James had revealed only moments before.

"Look Han, it's not like that. Like James told you. It's still very..."

"Caleb we don't need to talk about… that. She said in clipped tones. "You have your life and I have mine. You don't owe me anything." Although her face was blank from any emotions, he did pick up on the harsh way the words left her mouth.

"Hanna she's not… I mean we only hung out a couple of times… it's just a recent thing."

"I'm sure you went on a date here or there right?" He tried, but knew he was failing miserably by the way her face scrunched up at his words.

"Oohhh yeah." Hanna snarked and he knew within seconds he had said the wrong thing.

"In between taking care of Aubrey by myself, school, my part time job, my friends and trying to get at least 6 hours of sleep once in awhile, yeah I've been dating like crazy! Did you know there is a special website for teenage boys that are interested in becoming stepfather's? It's very popular…" She spat.

"Hanna, I didn't mean it like that. I meant you moved on right? Things are different now."

"Of course I did." Hanna said crossing her arms but not meeting his gaze. "And clearly you have as well, but that doesn't mean we have to talk about it."

"Look Hanna." He tried.

"Don't think that this thing with Kira… it's all very new and it wasn't like I started hooking up with randoms the moment I got here. I wasn't okay for a very long time. It took me the largest part of last year to move past everything that happened between us. Don't you ever think that what we had meant nothing to me, because it meant the world to me. You did and you still do." Caleb said softly and moved slightly closer to her, but she made no indication that she had heard him.

"Hanna before I met you, I didn't know what it was like to meet people that would love you unconditionally and accept you for who you are. Or good people at all for that matter. Before you came into my life, I never knew true love and that's not something I'll ever be able to get over any time soon." He said softly, gently squeezing her hand that had somehow found its way in his.

"Not to mention you gave me the most beautiful thing into this world." He added, brushing his thumb over her hand and giving her a small smile before pulling his hand away.

"So are you going to tell her, Kira about Aubrey?" Hanna asked timidly.

"Eventually I think I will. I want to get to know Aubrey by myself first, but I would tell her eventually." He said honestly.

"Don't you want me to?" He asked nervously, he would never jeopardize not seeing Aubrey for anyone.

"No it's fine." Hanna said quietly, her heart crushed, now she knew how serious Caleb actually was about this Kira girl.

"It's just...I don't like having a lot of people around Aubrey."

"Hanna, don't worry about that. That won't happen I promise. I mean, not during your holiday here at least, unless you're staying for like a month?"

"Were not." Hanna chuckled.

"How much longer will you be here?" He asked almost desperately, silently wishing they could stay forever. The thought of ever having to say goodbye to Aubrey and Hanna had kept him up until the early hours of the morning.

Hanna thought for a moment, she felt like they had been on holiday for ages with everything that happened, but she realised they had only been in Santa Barbara for 3 days.

"Another 9 to go, my mom booked 12 days."

"I'm glad." He sighed in relief.

"So is this Aubrey's first holiday?" He asked, trying to steer the conversation away from him and Kira. He was still trying to figure things out himself and talking to Hanna about it made it all the more difficult.

"Yeah, and mine as well ever since getting pregnant, I didn't want to go anywhere being pregnant and looking like a beached whale. You should have seen the looks people were giving me when I started showing." Hanna said with a dark look on her face.

"The news spread like wildfire in Rosewood, wherever I went people just stared at me as if I had 3 heads or something." She said the memories still vividly in her mind. "In the end people got used to it and the curiosity died down a bit, but it sucked being the source of the town's biggest gossip."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Hanna, I really wish I would have been there for it all. Did people know it was me, that I was the father?"

"Well Emily, Aria and Spencer did, and my mom of course. I didn't really tell anybody else but people knew you were the father by the time Aubrey was born because she looked so much like you, even more back then than she does now."

"I can't even imagine that, she still looks quite a lot like me. That's what my mom keeps telling me at least." He said with a proud smile on his face.

"She does, I've seen my own baby photo's and she looks nothing like me." Hanna chuckled.

"Do you have a photo of her when she was born?" Caleb asked calmly, although he felt wild with excitement at the thought of learning more about his daughter. He felt like he'd never know enough about her.

"Of course." Hanna said excitedly, happy to be able to share the explosive love she had for Aubrey with someone that wasn't her mother or friends. She pulled her phone from her bag and unlocked it, scrolling through the thousand of photos that were mainly of Aubrey and handing Caleb the phone.

"Just swipe to the right, they are all of Aubrey anyway." She said as she leaned slightly closer to look at the photos as well, she could never get enough of looking at her baby.

She was silent as she watched Caleb from the corner of her eyes staring at the screen where there was a photo of Aubrey being held by Hanna for the first time, where Aubrey was only a few minutes old, her eyes still closed and wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket, a little pink hospital hat on her tiny head. She was thankful for Emily, who had zoomed in on Aubrey, so Caleb couldn't see how tired and awful she had looked by the time Aubrey was born. The only part of Hanna that was showing, was her finger that Aubrey had a tight grip on with her tiny hand.

"Wow, she's perfect." Caleb finally breathed, not being able to take his eyes off the screen and swiping the screen where there was another photo of Aubrey, this time with her eyes opened for the first time, staring straight into the camera with her innocent brown eyes.

"This is the first time she actually opened her eyes, I'm so glad Spencer managed to take a photo of it." Hanna explained.

"Spencer was at the birth?"

"Just my mom, but the girls where in the waiting area so they practically stormed in the room the moment they heard her crying and my mom whooping."

"I'm happy that you had so many people there during her birth, it must have been hard bringing her into the world knowing you'd had to raise her by yourself." He said, feeling even worse now he was looking at the actual evidence of what would have been the biggest moment of his life.

"I had some time to get used to that idea, I mean I did make a choice to keep her. And my mom was there to support me."

"So was everything okay with the birth?"

"It was pretty normal I think, it hurt like hell and the girls said they could hear me screaming from where they were waiting, but honestly the moment Aubrey was placed on my chest, it was all that mattered and I don't actually remember the pain anymore. Although I remember cursing you for getting me pregnant during the birth."

"I'm really sorry Han."

"Stop saying sorry, we are here now, right?

"Right." He replied quietly, swiping through the photos and taking a long moment to stare at a photo of Hanna sitting up in the bed holding Aubrey with a massive smile on her face. She was surrounded by her friends and mother, all of them with massive smiles plastered on their faces. Hanna loved that photo particularly because Aria had been so smart to bring some makeup to the hospital and freshed up Hanna before they took some photo's with all of them.

"You all look so happy."

"We were." Hanna chuckled, remembering that exact moment like it was yesterday. "Right after the nurse took that photo, Aubrey started screaming so loud, I was shocked such a tiny human could make so much noise."

Caleb chuckled, looking through even more photo's and stopping at several to take a moment to stare and see his baby change with every other photo he looked at. However it made him think about something else he had wanted to ask Hanna before.

"How did you come up with her name?" He asked, placing the phone down on his knee and looking at her. He loved looking at all the photo's, but hearing more about Aubrey was just as important to him.

"Aubrey's name?" She asked, trying to win herself some more time before she had to tell the truth behind that story. She could already feel the heat creeping up to her cheeks, although it didn't go unnoticed by Caleb and he wondered why she was becoming so shy all of the sudden.

"Euhm well, I just found out I was expecting. Me and the girls were still trying to locate you."

"We were in my room discussing names and Spencer told me I should choose a name that would go with "Hanna and Caleb, because you know… we figured it wouldn't take that long to find you. That night I was lying in bed and some names were still running through my mind and that's how I came up with Aubrey."

"Because Hanna, Caleb and Aubrey sounded good together?" He asked with a massive grin on his face, joyous that he at least played a small part when it came to Aubrey's name.

"I know it's stupid, but from then on the name kind of stuck and I started to really love it, so from that night on I already named her Aubrey, but I didn't tell anyone until the birth. It was my little secret."

"I love it and it really suits her. Caleb said, having watched Hanna speak about Aubrey with a proud look on her face. "Does she have a middle name as well?"

"No, just Aubrey Marin."

"Marin?" Caleb asked and wasn't quick enough to hide his shock and disappointment. He had assumed she was called Rivers as Hanna knew he was the father.

"Yes, why?" Hanna asked oblivious to Caleb's displeasure.

"I assumed she was called Rivers."

"Why would she be called Rivers?"

"Because I'm her father Hanna." Caleb said rather loudly, getting irritated.

"You weren't there Caleb!" Hanna said indignantly in a loud voice and sat up straight.

"Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of my life Hanna, that I am some sort of dead beat dad?" Caleb shouted, his arms moving wildly and his eyes wide in anger.

Before Hanna could explain any further as to why Aubrey was named Marin, she was interrupted once more.

"Caleb?" A soft voice called from the hallway. Both looked up at a brunette girl their age standing there motionless with a look of utter shock on her face. Her eyes flicking between Caleb and Hanna. Although Hanna's heart was still racing in anger at Caleb and her tears had started to brim in her eyes, she didn't miss how beautiful this girl staring at them actually was with her long brown locks and kind brown eyes. Her long legs seemingly endless in a pair of denim shorts. So unlike herself. Part of her wished this wasn't Kira, but another family member of Caleb that she never met, but that dream was crushed within seconds.

"Kira, what are you doing here?" Caleb said in a much softer tone than he had been using only a moment ago.

"I'd thought I'd come over but.. But…" She stuttered.

"I'll come back later." She said quietly, still looking between them awkwardly, yet not making a move to leave at all.

"No." Hanna said rather loudly. "I'll go."

Hanna moved swiftly and fast, making sure she'd be out of the house before Caleb could do or say anything else. Or even worse, before Kira could ask her any questions.

Hanna made it outside before anyone could follow her or call after her. She furiously wiped at her tears now streaming freely down her face as she reached her car, driving off as soon as her vision cleared from the wave of tears that kept coming, wondering to herself if having Caleb back in their lives was actually a good thing?

 **XxxxX**

 **Preview?**

 **As always….. Love those reviews**


	7. Chapter 7

**Unexpected Chapter 7  
Mommy and me**

"Morning son, so glad to see you are still alive." William said, looking up at a grouchy looking Caleb who was dressed in joggers and a black hoodie which was pulled over his head, the name of a grunge band displayed on the front William never heard of.

Caleb mumbled something back without looking at William. If he hadn't seen Caleb's mouth move he wouldn't be sure Caleb had actually spoken.

"Okay then." William sighed slightly defeated, not really sure how to deal with his teenage stepson sometimes. Especially when he was in a mood like he was today. It reminded him of the first few months that Caleb came to live with them. Claudia was more in tune with Caleb and knew without a word how to deal with him. He kept wishing he would be able to manage the same thing with Caleb, he'd love nothing more than to get closer to him if Caleb would ever let him.

"Hey morning guys." Claudia said cheerfully breezing into the kitchen like a breath of fresh air. Caleb only grumbled as a reply as he munched on his cornflakes. She pottered around the kitchen for a while before sitting down next to Caleb, giving him a look over. She knew something was bothering him, yet making Caleb open up about his feelings was as easy as making a T-rex touch it's shoulders.

"So the gardener just came to talk to me." She started. Glancing at William before looking back at Caleb who gave no indication he heard her speak.  
"He charged an extra 45 minutes to his work because he had a retrieve quite a few tennis balls from the garden."

"So?" Caleb grumbled with his mouth full.

"So? Well first of all, please stop using all the RF legacy tennis balls when you hit them with a baseball bat. At least use the cheap ones to wreck when you're angry."

"And second, I hope you do realise you have replaced hitting balls across the yard with smoking a pack of cigarettes a day."

"So? What the fuck is your point?" Caleb asked angrily, needing a scapegoat for his anger and his mother was the perfect target to release it against.

"Hey, that's no way to speak to your mother!" William said angrily. He understood Caleb was dealing with a lot, but he would never allow any of the kids to disrespect their mother.

"Don't tell me what to do, you're not my father!" Caleb shot back and got up from his chair in anger. It fell to the floor with a loud clang. Caleb stepped over the chair and strode outside into the garden. He would have gone to his room, but he was pretty sure his mother would follow him there and all he needed now was to get away from it all.

Caleb walked the long way around the house and to his car, needing to clear his head. Without much purpose he drove to the one place that he knew would provide him some solace.

"What was that about?" William asked Claudia, who had placed Caleb's chair back without a word and sat back down staring at her breakfast.

"I don't know William, I think something must have happened yesterday." She said worryingly.

"I know he asked Hanna to come over so they could talk. Do you think something bad happened between them?"

"Like what?" William asked curiously. Ever since Caleb had been able to see Aubrey, he had been happier than William had ever seen him. He had even become more open about his feelings to his mom and William. He had told them how Hanna seemed completely okay with him seeing Aubrey, so it probably wasn't anything like that.

"I have no clue Will, everything he ever told me about Hanna was always so positive, except for the fights they had previously. But I thought all was perfect between them now. They seemed to have talked about some things the last time he saw Hanna and Aubrey, so I can't imagine them having another fight."

"He's pretty upset though." William commented with a concerned look on his face.

"I was going to talk to him about… the thing, but maybe I should leave that for later."

Claudia looked at William, one hand on her hip, the other one holding a cup of coffee in mid air. She thought for a second. She didn't agree with her husband on this issue, but she knew he'd raise the subject with Caleb nonetheless.

"I really wish you didn't Will, at least not right now. He doesn't need you to upset him even more!"

"Claudia, I have to protect our financial assets. I know you told me Hanna was very special to Caleb when he lived in Rosewood, but you just can't blindly trust the words of a 17 year old girl and assume that Caleb is Aubrey's father. He needs to ask that girl for a DNA test, at least before I officially adopt him." He tried to explain calmly, but he count ignore the way she tightened her lips, just like Caleb did when he was trying to hold in his anger.

She looked at him long and hard before speaking again, a light edge in her voice.

"It's not just her words I can and need to trust Will! Not only does Aubrey look a hell of a lot like Caleb, I don't see any reason why she would lie about it. Just because she is 17 years old, doesn't make her a liar!" This particular jab came too close to her heart, knowing exactly all the judgement Hanna probably had to face every day.

"Have you totally forgotten I was once in the same position she's in now? Just because someone is a teen mom, doesn't make them a liar or untrustworthy!"

"Claudia, I get it, I do. And I am so proud that Caleb is willing to step up to be a father to Aubrey and that he's willing to do anything to support this girl."

"Hanna, her name is Hanna." Claudia butted in, annoyed at her husband.

"That he's willing to support Hanna." He said in an apologetic voice.

"However." He carried on in a diplomatic manner that annoyed Claudia. "I do really want to adopt Caleb and at least make sure he's cared for financially the same way James and Clay will be. I want him to know I care about him just as much as James and Clay, but I don't want anyone to take advantage of him for the sake of money."

"So you think Hanna, who offered him a safe place to stay when he had nothing more than the clothes on his back, is out for his money?" Claudia spat sarcastically.

"I'm just saying that not everyone you come across in life has good intentions Claudia."

"Like me? I mean that's how your family still sees me right? The poor woman who married a rich man so she could live a comfortable life."

"Claudia can we not steer off course and stay on the issue here, which is Caleb? We are on the same side here, I just want to keep him from harm's way, like you do."

"You have a funny way of showing it." Claudia said, walking off to find her son, a small inclination as to where to find him.

 **XxxxxX**

"Mom thank you, this was a great idea." Hanna said excitedly as she looked at all the shops surrounding them in the enormous mall they managed to drag Aubrey to. After yesterday a bit of retail therapy was all Hanna needed, she thought to herself as she eyed an expensive looking boutique.

"We'll see how much of a good idea it was after we leave here again, hopefully within a few hours." Ashley murmured.

"I'm pretty sure it will be." Hanna said, glancing at a happily gurgling Aubrey who managed to stuff her entire fist in her mouth for some reason. Hanna was sure her content baby would start screaming within a few hours. The love for shopping was something else Hanna had failed to bestow upon her daughter, but she could always make her learn to love shopping as she got older. Hanna looked over at Aubrey who she had dressed in a pale pink dress with matching bloomers and a Tiffany's headband with a tiny silk pink bow in the middle that Spencer had bought her.

"You want to check it out?" Ashley asked nodding towards the boutique. She had seen where Hanna had been staring at with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Couldn't afford it of my life depended on it." Hanna said solemnly although she didn't mind one bit, Aubrey had become her number one priority in her life.

"Hanna, it's okay to take a look or even treat yourself to something you'd really like sometimes. You might be a mom but there's nothing wrong with splurging on something for yourself once in awhile."

"Thats sweet mom, but it's not necessary." Hanna replied and made to turn away from the store halfheartedly, a small part of her wishing she still had the opportunity to splurge without a care in the world.

"Stop whining and let's go." Ashley said, pulling her towards the store and surprising Hanna with her actions. Normally Ashley would do anything in her power to steer Hanna away from boutiques like these.

Thirty minutes later Hanna found herself being pushed in a fitting room by her mom, her arms filled with beautiful dresses with price tags that made her feel faint thinking about having to pay for them.

Hanna had tried on several of her mom's pics and soon got to her own picks, but when she tried on the the last dress, her personal favorite. A black chiffon knee length dress that hugged her in all the right places and made her chest look amazing.  
Although Hanna had always loved fashion and valued looking like she could walk on a catwalk any time of the day, having Aubrey had put her passion about fashion on a back burner ever since. But now she was looking at herself in the mirror, the love for clothes, mostly expensive ones, came back to her as if things had never been any different. She wasn't aware of how long she'd been staring at herself until her mom pushed the curtain aside and gawked at her for a long moment. A bright smile appeared on Ashley's face as she watched Hanna looking at herself in the mirror, beaming with happiness.

"What do you think?" Hanna asked breathlessly, still eyeing the dress. The heavy price tag no longer on her mind.

"Hanna you look amazing." Her mom said looking at her beautiful daughter who was glowing with excitement. "We should get it."

Hanna's face dropped instantly and looked at her mother. "Mom I can't, I mean I love it, but I can't buy this." She said in shock. She glanced at Aubrey and thought about all the thing she could and should buy for her baby with all this money.

"I got this. Her mother said, looking at her determinedly. "You deserve this."

"But mom.." Hanna protested, although her heart leaped a little at her mother's offer and she didn't dare to challenge her mother too much. Deep in her heart she knew she wanted the dress.

"No buts, let me do this for you."

Hanna hesitated only a second before she caught another look of herself in the mirror.  
"Fine." She agreed as she tried to contain her enthusiasm and caught her mom sending her a warm smile.

"How are you even going to pay for it?" Hanna whispered to her mom as they went back to the checkout to pay, not wanting the snooty clerks overhearing in case they thought they shouldn't be there.

"Hanna let me worry about that and stop asking questions." Ashley said with a massive smile on her face, ushering Hanna to the checkout, pushing the stroller where Aubrey was happily observing the twinkling lights on the ceiling.

Hanna couldn't stop smiling as she watched her mom approach the counter to pay for the dress. She was so caught up in her thoughts of wearing it and showing it to her friends and thinking off all the special occasions she should make up, so she could wear it as much as possible, that she had missed the girl behind the counter who had been talking to her.

It wasn't until her mom poked her painfully in the ribs that she was shaken from her thoughts.

She looked at her mother questionably and glanced at where her mother was nodding towards. It only took her a split second to recognise the beautiful face smiling broadly at her with perfectly straight pearly teeth.

"Hi Hanna." Kira said cheerily, in a very high voice. It sounded very fake to Hanna.

"Hi." Hanna managed to squeak, unable to imitate the very high notes Kira had reached.

"This is very beautiful Hanna! She said nodding at the dress she was wrapping. Is It for a special occasion?"

"It's a gift from my mom, but I'm sure I'll wear it on a special occasion."

"Well it's a good choice for you because it's very flattering, I'm sure it will make you look great." Kira said. Hanna was sure none of it was actually meant as a compliment and she could feel her insecurities bubbling to the surface. Especially as Kira's eyes wandered to Hanna's tummy as she said it.

Before Hanna could do or say anything, Kira had noticed Ashley and finally Aubrey who was giving her one of her bright smiles, much to Hanna's dismay.

It was like yesterday never happened, when Kira had walked in on Caleb and Hanna fighting about Aubrey. Hanna knew Kira overheard them and knew Caleb was Aubrey's father. It didn't seem to bother Kira one bit the way she was acting.

"So this is your daughter?" Kira asked and gave Aubrey a big smile back as Hanna got more annoyed watching the interaction between her daughter and Kira.

"Yes, mine and Caleb's," she snipped. "Her name is Aubrey."

"Well she is very beautiful, just like her daddy." Kira replied, smirking at Hanna and handing her the bag with Hanna's dress.

Hanna shot her a big fake smile as she took the bag from Kira and made her way out of the boutique as fast as she could, her heart hammering in her chest out of annoyance and anger.

"Kira? As in Kira-who-comes-over-for-movie-night, Kira?" Ashley asked the moment they stepped outside.

"How many Kira's do you know?" Hanna asked aggressively. "What kind of a stupid name is Kira anyway? It's a cat's name." She seethed.

"A cat's name?" Ashley asked amused. "How do you figure that?"

"It's just is." Hanna huffed, needing to vent off some of the anger she felt towards Kira. she was sure she had made fun of her on purpose.

"Is that why you suddenly had the urge to tell her you and Caleb have a child together? You never like to talk about it." Ashley asked glancing sideways at Hanna.

"It just slipped." Hanna said without regret. "Besides, she knows Caleb is her father anyway. I told you how she overheard me and Caleb talking about it. And even if she wasn't sure, I am sure Caleb told her after I left."

"After you fled you mean?" Ashley chuckled. Which earned her a massive eye roll from Hanna.

"You should really try and find other ways to leave that house Hanna."

"Who says I'm ever going back there?" Hanna shot back.

 **XxxxxxxX**

The very first day Caleb arrived in California he never would have thought 18 months later he'd still be here. It had to be the longest time he managed to stay in one place. Nor had he ever been able to guess his life would be as crazy as it was now.

The past 18 months seemed ages ago considering how much his life had changed since then, however the past 3 days had been the most life changing yet. Finding out he had a child and having to wrap his head around it and even meeting Aubrey for the first time in these few days had turned his life completely upside down. It was like a tornado had crossed its path and had yet to put him back down.

He smiled as he thought of Aubrey, it had been hard to get to terms of being a father, but the way Aubrey could manage to fill his heart with so much love was a new experience to him that he loved and hated. He was so proud that he had created something so perfect and beautiful as Aubrey, although it wasn't all that perfect to him. All Caleb could think off was how history was repeating itself.

He hadn't been there for Aubrey, just like his mother hadn't when he needed her most. As far as he was concerned he had already missed out on a massive and important chunk of her life that he would never get back, all because he had walked out on the biggest love of his life.

And why?  
Even till this day he wasn't sure.  
Had he loved Hanna too much? Had it scared him?

Yes it had… of course it had. Everyone who had ever loved him, had abandoned him. He found solace in the knowledge Hanna hadn't actually walked away from him in the end. She had walked away from the pain he had caused her by betraying her trust.

He sighed as he let a tear fall from his eye, blinking a few times as the sheer brightness of the sun reflecting on water nearly blinded him. He laid his arm on the back of the bench he was sitting on, overlooking the ocean. He closed his eyes for a moment to feel the soft breeze bristle past his face and felt one last tear leaving his eye.

He took his sweet time before he opened his eyes again and let out a long breath, trying to clear his head and make sense of the chaos in his life.

He ran his hand through his hair and lifted himself slightly off the bench to grab his wallet from the pocket of his jeans.  
He opened it and from one of the invisible compartments he grabbed tattered and creased photo he had managed to keep safe all this time. He held it in front of his face to block out the sun as it was starting to set.

Even though he had looked at it a million times, he could never get enough of it. It was the only picture he had of himself with Hanna.

Considering they had only been together for such a short time, he was happy Hanna had been so addicted to taking a gazillion photos of them together and making other people take their picture. It had annoyed him at the time, but now he was glad about it.

He ran his fingers over the photo and took in the bright smile on Hanna's face that reached all the way to her eyes. His expression mirroring hers, his eyes blazing with happiness.

He couldn't fight the smile that graced his lips as he remembered ever so clearly how happy he had been in that very moment. Ashley had taken that photo of them in the kitchen after she had told Caleb he could stay with them for a while.

After finally meeting Aubrey a few days ago, staying with the Marin's was probably still the happiest time of his life. He felt bad for feeling that way, especially how his mom had outdone herself in finding him, getting to know him and and giving him the very best she could offer him.

He slumped back onto the bench and overlooked the water, the photo of him and Hanna still clutched tightly in his hands. He was so engulfed in his thoughts he never noticed the person behind him coming closer to where he was sitting. The person was about to call out to him, but stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on the photo in his hands, stopping her from letting her presence known. She stood there for a small moment before she made up her mind and turned on her heels, back to her car.

For the first time she knew exactly what she needed to do.

 **XxxxxxX**

With the directions she had been given, it didn't take her long to find the very place Claudia had told her where she could find Caleb.

Hanna had been nursing Aubrey when Claudia had phoned their hotel room. Confused as to why Claudia needed to talk to her, she had taken the phone reluctantly from her mom. Claudia wasn't very clear as to why it was of the utmost importance Hanna had to go and see Caleb, especially as he had a girlfriend who he probably should be talking to.

She made her way straight to Caleb who was sitting so still and calm he could have been asleep. She wondered briefly if he was and started walking a bit faster, nearly walking into the bench itself, which made Caleb look up.

He stared at her for a long moment, lost for words as to why Hanna would be there of all places.

"Han? What what are you doing here?" He asked in shock.

Hanna couldn't quite get over the first words came out of his mouth and was about to say something as Caleb spoke again. This time in a much softer voice, clearly he had seen the trace of her slight annoyance on her face.

"I meant, how did you find me?"

"Your mom asked me to meet you here." She explained.

"My mom?"

"Yeah…" Hanna trailed off nervously, she assumed Caleb knew she was coming to see him. Now she wasn't so sure he knew why she was there. Worse still, she didn't even know why she was there herself.

"Why, what did she say?" Caleb asked and scooted on the bench, indicating Hanna should join him, which she did.

"She called to the hotel and asked me if I could come and meet you. It sounded quite urgent so I came here as soon as I finished nursing Aubrey."

"How long ago did she call you?" Caleb asked curiously.

"About 30 minutes ago."

He was silent for a while, wondering what could have triggered Claudia to call Hanna a mere 30 minutes ago. He had been there for the biggest part of the day. He rubbed his legs nervously as he tried to understand what was happening, why his mother found it important Hanna would come here of all places, to see him. The one place that was so special to him and his mother. The only place he knew only his mother could find him.

He was still deep in thought when one of his hands ran over his wallet in his pocket and he remembered what he had been doing the past hour. Of course it had been Aubrey and Hanna that had been on his mind most of the day, but he had an inkling his mother might have seen him looking at the photo now safely back in the wallet, and that's why she called Hanna.

"Did my mom at least tell you why she wanted you to come here?" Caleb asked, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer to his question.

"No she just said where to meet you."

"Why?" Hanna asked unsure, she didn't get the impression Caleb wanted her gone. But she was in the dark about this meeting as much as he was apparently.

"I think she knows me better than I thought." He chuckled to himself, his mother understood more than anyone how important Hanna had been to him and how much she still was. Clearly Claudia had seen it before he had.

Caleb finally looked at Hanna who had been silent all this time.

"There's actually a few things I really want to talk to you about." He finally said and he could feel Hanna tensing up at his words, clearly expecting the worst which wasn't a surprise after their fight yesterday.

"First of all, I'm really sorry how I behaved yesterday Hanna. I should have never gone off at you like that. I feel like such an ass being so rude to you, especially after you've been through enough raising Aubrey by yourself."

"It's just, seeing her now and seeing how much I've missed, finding out she didn't even had my last name was another shock I didn't really take well. I just assumed she was called Rivers… you know because you knew I was her father."

"Caleb, she was supposed to be called Rivers." Hanna started apologetically.  
"I always planned for her to be called Rivers, but when I was at the midwife's they told me if you weren't there to sign the birth certificate, I couldn't give her your last name."

Caleb was silent as it all made sense to him now, and a rush of happiness filled him as Hanna explained she did want their baby to be called Rivers after all.

"Now I feel even more of an ass about getting mad about it Han."

"It's okay, you couldn't have known." Hanna said silently, still a bit uncomfortable as she wasn't sure what else he wanted to talk about. She hoped beyond hope whatever was next it wouldn't be Kira. she was much happier pretending she didn't exist.

A silence fell between them and Hanna wasn't sure if she wanted to find out what else Caleb wanted to talk about, mainly as most of his questions lately where about all the choices she made regarding Aubrey. Even though she was confident enough in the way she was trying to raise Aubrey.

"So what is this place anyway?" Hanna eventually asked before the silence between them could grow too uncomfortable. "I never imagined Caleb Rivers to be a beach guy."

"I'm not." He chuckled, but then decided that after everything Hanna had told him about her life so far. It was about time she knew about his as well.

"This is actually the place where I met my mom for the first time." Caleb confessed.

"It is?" Hanna asked in disbelieve.

"Yeah, you know after I left…. Uhm left Rosewood."

"I went to Arizona because that's the last place I knew my mom used to live and that's where my aunt used to live. The one she left me with when…" He swallowed for a moment before continuing, the memory of his mother driving away from him still vivid in his mind, her reasons for doing so still filling him with a surge of anger whenever he thought about it. He took a breath trying to rid himself of thinking about… that. He forced himself to focus on Hanna, who had remained silent all this time, waiting for him to continue.

"When she took off. My aunt no longer lived where I remembered she used to live so I had to sleep on the streets for a night before I found this hostel near Flagstaff that let me work there for a room to stay and free meals." He explained calmly and ignored the sharp intake of breath from Hanna. He wasn't telling her this to make her feel bad, he was telling her this so she knew what his life had looked like ever since he left.

"One day I was having dinner with the owners and we got talking as to why I was there and they were really nice to me. They let me stay in their house from then on, for as long I was working with them so I didn't have to share a room with all the guest from the hostel and we became quite close. They were like the grandparents I never had." Caleb admitted as a smile graced his lips remembering Glynnda and Kenneth.

Hanna was happy to hear that after everything he went through he had met some actual nice people that were willing to help him from the goodness of their hearts, he didn't deserve anything less.

"I was with them for about 2 months when the topic of my mom came up again and Glennda, the wife of the owner suggested I should start looking for my mother again as it was the reason I was in Arizona in the first place."

"She helped me with the logistics of it all and we went to child services to see if anyone could help us, to see if I could find anything about my mother. I remember the woman at the social services office looking at me with this big smile and that's when she told us my mom had been looking for me forever. She told me my mom was even in the process of getting a private investigator because after Seattle I got lost in the system and she couldn't find anything about me after that time."

"Turned out during my move to that family, the jackass foster father I had in Seattle messed up my name and signed me up as Calvin instead of Caleb and that's apparently how my mom couldn't find me anymore."

"Wow Caleb,.. Wow I don't know what to say." Hanna breathed.

"I know." He smiled back.

"I'm really happy your mom had been looking for you all this time." Hanna said and she meant it. She knew how much it meant to him to know he was never forgotten about.

"So to make this story as short as I can." He joked, "Through social services I got into contact with my mom and she couldn't wait to see me. She wanted to send a car to come and get me from Flagstaff but I wanted to give Glennda and Kenneth a proper goodbye and thank them for everything they did for me."

"Especially as all the goodbyes I had in my life before that time were pretty shit." He trailed off, trying not to dwell on the heart wrenching goodbye he and Hanna had, even though that still hurt him to this very day.

"So the next day I was supposed to meet my mom but I wanted to meet her somewhere neutral, so she suggested this place and the rest is history."

"Wait, what do you mean history?" Hanna asked surprised.

"How was it when you met your mom? And your brothers? And William?"

"Wow Hanna, curious much?" He chuckled, loving that she was being the exact same Hanna he had missed all this time.

"I'm just curious, I mean you always wondered about your mother and what happened to her. You've always felt like something was missing from your life." She said.

"And look at you now." She carried on excitedly. "Living in a beautiful place, amazing house, lovely family. You're really lucky Caleb! You have everything and more you ever dreamed off." She said, genuinely happy that Caleb's luck had finally turned around.

"I can't imagine anyone else who deserves it more to be living the good life." She said kindly shooting him a smile which he reciprocated, however it wasn't as genuine as hers.  
A smile appeared on his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked away from her again rather quickly and let out a long breath as he watched the ocean for a bit.

"Caleb?" Hanna Asked tentatively. Every time his mother had come up Caleb had shut down on her and this time wasn't any different.

She reached out for him and tenderly laid a hand on his knee, squeezing it gently to let him know she was there for him. He let out another long breath as he watched the crashing waves, laying his hand atop hers and enclosing her small hand in his, sitting together in a comfortable silence.

All of the sudden Caleb stood up from the bench, pulling Hanna with him as her hand was still firmly in his. She looked at him questionably.

"Can we walk whilst we talk? I can't sit still when I need to talk about shit like this."

"Uhm okay." Hanna said, standing up as well and throwing her small handbag over her shoulder, gently removing her hand from his large one as it felt too intimate to her now that she knew he had a girlfriend. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her denim shorts to keep herself from making up an excuse as to why she let go of him.

They walked a little in silence, Hanna waited for Caleb to speak first not wanting to pressure him into talking about something he might not want to.

"I guess now I understand how it must have been for you when I first met you. He started in a soft voice.

"Hanna when I saw you for the first time, besides thinking you were fucking hot and way out of my league." He joked halfheartedly. "I thought you had it all, nice clothes, nice car, beautiful home and a mother who truly cared about you. At that time it was everything I wished I had, even though your mom hated my guts." He laughed

"I know it was only because she cared about you."

Hanna chuckled slightly, her mom really did have something against Caleb back then. She was glad things changed a lot since that time.

"But then I got to know you better and you started telling me things about your life and let me in, I realised it wasn't as perfect at all. Well not as perfect as I thought it was in the first place."

Hanna nodded as they walked on, understanding where he was getting at.

"So what are you saying Caleb?" Hanna asked, hoping things were at least a little bit more perfect for him than it was for her when she met Caleb.

"It's just…" He sighed, trying to find the right words to explain his feelings to her.

"It's just… I feel like I don't blend in as well as we all would want to. In the first few months me and my mother went to therapy a lot, to work things out. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to trust her this time around. Although she did everything in her power to prove to me she wanted to be the mother I had missed all these years."

"It was just so weird to be thrown into this insta-family, they've always been together, know each other like the back of their hand and work together perfectly. Even after all this time I still feel like the odd one out, like I am only there to watch this perfect little family live their lives from the sidelines but never really fitting in quite well."

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"It just doesn't feel as much like home as to when…" However Caleb didn't finish his sentence.

He stopped walking and looked at Hanna, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his torn jeans, nervously kicking the sand.

"Hanna, I've never felt more at home anywhere or with anyone than when I was living in your basement, when I was with you." He said in a quiet voice, yet Hanna heard every single word very clearly.

The intense look he was giving her gave her goosebumps, part of her wanted to look away from him, but her body wouldn't let her.

"The way you accepted me without a doubt, the way you showed me unconditional love no questions asked, it was something so new to me. All of my life I felt alone, untill I met you. You were the first one who opened up their heart and home to me and saw me for who I really was, accepted me for who I was. I don't think anyone could ever top that." He said seriously, "Not even my mother. " He added solemnly.

Hanna was stunned, she thought about Claudia. The woman who seemed so perfect, who seemed to live a perfect life and clearly loved and cared for her children. If Caleb wouldn't have said anything she could have assumed his life was more than perfect. It hurt her to find out he wasn't as happy as she hoped he'd be.

"She seems so nice though." Hanna eventually said.

Caleb sighed and kneeled to sit down in the sand, Hanna sitting down next to him, hugging her arms around her legs.

"She is Hanna, I know she does her best to get close to me and make me happy. But she can't change the past. She left me when I was only 5 years old, there's things she's done in her past I'm struggling to forgive her for. She might look perfect, but everyone has got skeletons in their closet and my mother is no different, she isn't the innocent suburban mom she portrays to be." He said, and Hanna could hear the anger in his voice. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better. She wasn't even sure if she should ask about the skeletons in Claudia's closet. She glanced at the pained expression on his face and decided against asking any questions.

If anything she knew how he felt. How much it hurt to have a parent who didn't care about them, how much it hurt to feel like you did not fit in with the very people in your family. Becoming a teen mother had not changed anything in Tom Marin behavior, except now he was ignoring the existence of his granddaughter as much as his own daughter.

"I'm really sorry Caleb, I really am."

"It's okay Hanna, my life doesn't completely suck you know, it's a whole lot better than all those foster families I've stayed with."

"Besides, I blame you for setting the bar on happiness so high." He chuckled nudging her side, elevating the tension that came with his confession.

He looked back at the ocean one last time, Hanna following his suit and they took in the sunset and crashing waves in front of them, a soft warm breeze ruffling their faces and hair.

A comfortable silence eloped them.  
Caleb leaned back on his elbows enjoying the views, the views that suddenly seemed so much more spectacular now Hanna was by his side.

 **XxxxxX**

 **Thank you to all my readers for all the continues support! I love getting notifications with new followers, favorites and reviews.**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Unexpected**

 **Chapter 8, part 1**

"What is it with you and that phone this morning?" Ashley asked as she watched Hanna nursing Aubrey whilst rapidly typing away on her phone.

"I'm just sending Caleb the photos from yesterday's trip to the zoo, and some from the beach the day before. He text me last night to ask how it was but I was too tired to reply, so I'm doing it now," Hanna informed her mom.

"Do you have to do it whilst nursing Aubrey?" Ashley asked, scrunching her face up at her daughter's actions.

"I'm a pro now," Hanna said, holding up one hand as she kept Aubrey perfectly balanced between her leg and other arm; her baby kept on nursing as if nothing had happened. "And so is this little champ," She added, brushing her free hand over Aubrey's rosy cheeks.

"How are things between you guys anyway?" Ashley asked, having noticed Hanna's attachment to the phone all morning. She wondered why things seemed to have changed so rapidly between Hanna and Caleb – it was almost as if something had switched ever since Claudia had asked Hanna to come and meet Caleb at the beach a mere two days ago.

"It's okay I guess, much better than before. He told me a lot about what happened to him when he left Rosewood, and he apologised for getting mad at me when he found out that Aubrey was called Marin. I explained why she is though."

"Hmmm," Her mother replied.

"Hmmm what?" Hanna asked.

"Nothing Hanna, I'm just listening," Her mother lied in a rather high pitched voice.

"You're thinking about more than you're letting on, I can tell," Hanna said, "Just spill it." Aubrey then started to wriggle in her embrace, clearly content with her feed. Hanna sat her up in her lap, rubbing her back softly as she waited for her mother to reply.

"What about this Kira girl? Did he say anything about her? Have you told him about the way she was acting towards you in the shop?"

"No and no," Hanna said shortly – she was a much happier person when she pretended Kira didn't exist.

"No and no?" Ashley asked, looking at her daughter her eyes travelling down to her granddaughter. She smiled widely when she saw Aubrey grinning back at her, and reached down to take her from Hanna for a much needed hug.

"No as in we didn't talk about Kira, and no I didn't say anything either. It has nothing to do with Caleb, just general pretty girl bitchiness," Hanna shrugged. "Why?" She proceeded to ask, but her mother was busy too busy blowing raspberries against Aubrey's cheek. Aubrey was clearly enjoying it, if her little screeches were anything to go by.

"There's just something about her, I don't trust her," Ashley sighed, placing Aubrey on her hip.

"You didn't trust Caleb when you first met him," Hanna reminded her.

"Well part of me was right about that," Ashley said, only half joking as she looked into Audrey's chocolate brown eyes. She didn't miss the angry look Hanna shot back at her.

"You need two people to make a baby you know," Hanna muttered.

"Oh I know Hanna, I was only joking," Ashley sighed, "I changed my mind about him didn't I? After I gave him a chance, he showed nothing but love for you, and now for your daughter. I wouldn't have expected anything less from him to be honest."

"Me neither," Hanna said quietly.

"What time are you meeting him, should I get Aubrey ready?" Ashley asked; they were currently still in their pyjamas.

"In an hour so. If you could get Aubrey changed that'd be great, I'll quickly jump in the shower."

 **XxxxxxX**

"Caleb!" Your phone is buzzing!" James yelled from the dining table, glancing at the screen of Caleb's phone.

"Who's it from? He yelled back from the kitchen.

"It's from a baby," James yelled back, staring at the small photo that flashed upon the screen just as a new message came in.

"A baby?" Caleb asked more softly as he entered the dining room with fresh waffles, placing them on the table and looking at his phone as fast as he could. He grinned when he saw who it was. "It's from Hanna," He said, glancing at his mother who smiled warmly at him. "Her profile photo is a new photo of Aubrey."

"Can I see?" Claudia asked as she got up from her seat, wanting to see as much of Aubrey as she could. Even though she had only seen Aubrey briefly twice, she already felt a strong pull towards her granddaughter, and couldn't wait to see her again. She leant in close as Caleb showed her the profile photo.

"Is Hanna the one with the yellow hair?" Clay asked as James threw a waffle on his plate before grabbing two for himself.

"Yeah," Caleb answered without paying too much attention; more messages from Hanna were coming in, and they were all from the past two days that he had missed because of work. There were a lot from the zoo that they visited, and some from the farmer's market nearby that Caleb had told her she should visit with her mother and Aubrey.

Claudia and Caleb both looked at the photos Hanna had sent; the occasional 'awwww' fell from his mother's lips as he flipped through the all the pictures, Aubrey smiling brightly in every single photo.

"Rivers babies sure are the cutest," Claudia said softly, smiling at the striking similarities between her Aubrey and Caleb.

"She's not…" Caleb started, but Claudia shrugged.

"She's still your daughter, it doesn't matter what her name is. She looks like a Rivers."

"What's a Rivers?" James asked innocently.

Claudia glanced at her husband uncomfortably. Even though she had been clear with William about her feelings concerning the DNA test, she knew he would still try and talk to Caleb about it. She could tell he was about to raise the subject.

"Rivers is my last name," Caleb said simply.

"Why is it different to mommy's? Mommy is called Dawson," James informed him with his mouth full of half chewed waffle.

"Because she married your daddy, so now you're all called Dawson just like your dad," Caleb tried to explain hurriedly, wanting to go back to looking at the pictures of Aubrey that Hanna kept sending him.

"Why are you not called Dawson?"

"Because I have a different dad to you."

"Where is he?" James asked innocently; he completely missed the change in atmosphere.

"James, remember when I told you that Caleb's daddy went to live with the angels?"

"Oh yeah," He breathed out, his large blue eyes focused on Caleb. Clearly the story had had an effect on him. After a moment of staring, he accepted this new information and started on his second waffle.

"Boys, when you finish breakfast, why don't you go outside and play for a bit okay?" Claudia said kindly, before shooting Caleb a meaningful look; he immediately understood they needed to talk. The rest of breakfast was uneventful, and Caleb simply kept scrolling through the photos that Hanna had sent him with a goofy smile on his face

"What do you need to talk about?" He asked the moment that his brothers had been ushered into the garden by his mother.

"Son, there is something we…" Claudia sent William a death glare, and he quickly corrected himself, "I need to talk to you about."

Caleb didn't say anything and waited for William to continue.

"Look, as a successful businessman and head of our family business, there's a few things that I need to take care off," He started. "First off all, now that we have confirmation that your father Jamie has passed, Lord rest his soul," He said in a business like manner – Caleb didn't like it at all, "It does give me the opportunity to make sure that you have the best life possible, now and in the foreseeable future."

Caleb raised his eyebrows at him. What did he know about having the best life possible? Caleb had already experienced the best life possible, and it had nothing to do with the man sitting across from him, who was sporting a facial expression that made him look as if he had been constipated for the past five days.

"Caleb, I want to adopt you," He said suddenly.

Caleb was sure that he'd misheard the man. Now, at the age of seventeen, he never thought he'd ever hear those words.

"Excuse me?" He asked; he nearly laughed, but managed to stop himself as William gave him a serious look

"I want to adopt you, I want you to feel part of this family, and I want to provide you with a stable financial future. I want to make sure that you will be cared for in the same way as your brothers will be, just in case something ever happens. I want you to know that you are just as important to me and your mom as James and Clay," He said, his voice wavering as he spoke.

"Really?" Caleb asked, unsure whether or not he should be happy. He could feel his mother breathing rather quickly in the chair next to him, but William nodded warmly at Caleb. "Uhm… thank you I guess," He mumbled.

"There is something else though, before we go through with it," William carried on. Caleb could tell by the way that Claudia jammed her fork into her waffle that William was approaching the reason they were having this conversation, "I need you to do something."

"Okay," Caleb said apprehensively, unsure of what William could possibly want him to do. He wouldn't change his name to Dawson, that he was very sure off.

"I need you to make sure you are Aubrey's father," William told him. He saw anger flash in Claudia's eyes.

Caleb frowned, "I am Aubrey's father."

"Caleb I know that's what Hanna's told you, and I am proud of you for stepping up, but I need you to make _sure_. We could do a simple DNA test and..."

"I am sure," Caleb said with absolute finality, a hard look on his face.

"I mean…" William started, but Caleb cut him off.

"I know what you mean, and I am telling you that I am her father Will. Period." Caleb could feel anger bubbling up inside of him as he watched William take a deep breath. He knew that William was determined, but he would make sure that William knew that when it came to Aubrey, he would never win.

"Listen son…"

"Don't you call me son!" Caleb said angrily. "No father of mine would ever have the guts to doubt Hanna like this, to doubt me."

"Caleb I'm not saying that I doubt either of you, but how much can you trust that what Hanna has told you is the absolute truth?" He tried in a sympathetic voice. When he saw Caleb's blazing look of anger, he knew he had finally crossed a line with him. Clearly anything to do with Hanna or Aubrey was special to Caleb; Claudia had already warned William, but he had never expected Caleb to be so protective. He glanced helplessly at Claudia, and braced himself for the torrent of anger that he knew was coming. He wasn't wrong.

"Hanna is the only person I would trust with my life, hell, I trust her a whole lot more than you two," He shouted angrily, pointing at Claudia and William. "How dare you ask me if I am certain Aubrey is mine. Hanna would never lie to me like that. I'd rather die than ask her for a DNA test. She is the only person in my life that I ever trusted, and now you dare to ask me this? Have you any idea what she meant to me?! What she did for me when no one else did? I don't remember either of you being there!" Caleb yelled.

He didn't care if his brothers could hear him.

"I'd rather go back to being homeless and broke if it meant I'd be able to be with Aubrey, I'd give up everything. If you are making me choose between you and Aubrey then…" He said more to William than his mother, "You could never complete with Aubrey and H…"

"What's going on?" A much softer voice came from the doorway. Caleb whipped his head around, although he already knew who he would see. He groaned inwardly; Kira had a knack for having the worst timing. She wasn't to blame though. He had totally forgotten that she was supposed to come over after breakfast.

"Nothing!" He said without lowering his voice, the injustice imposed on him by William still angering him, "Just that the people I am living with are complete assholes," He yelled, before aggressively shoving his chair under the table. He walked out of the dining room and grabbed Kira's hand roughly, pulling her with him towards the stables.

Kira had been silent the whole way to the stables; she knew he was angry by the way he was stomping across the large garden. She was struggling to keep up. He finally let go of her hand to sit down, resting his back against the wall of one of the stables, and threw his head back, his eyes closed as he tried to compose himself.

"Are you okay?" Kira finally asked in a concerned tone after a long moment of silence. She rubbed his back gently, but she could feel that he was still seething.

"I'll be fine," Caleb said shortly, and shrugged his shoulders.

Kira could tell that whatever she had overheard was still bothering Caleb, but she had yet to find out how to get Caleb to open up to her. She felt as if he was still building walls around himself, instead of letting them down. Even though she had only known him for two months, she knew that trying to make Caleb talk about Aubrey now would be the worst idea ever. Asking about Hanna was something that she really didn't want to try, although she was dying to find out what had happened between them. They had only known each other for a few months, but it was long enough to notice the difference in Caleb's behavior towards her ever since Hanna plus baby came breezing into his life. Silently, she hoped he'd open up to her eventually.

Kira decided a distraction might take Caleb's mind off of his anger; she scooted closer to him, their sides pressed closely together. "Do you want to do something fun today? I mean you have the day off right? Maybe we can finally hang out by ourselves for once, without any parents or siblings around? We could go for lunch."

"Can't today Kira," He mumbled.

She let out an annoyed groan in reply. They were supposed to go on their first official date a few days ago, but Caleb had cancelled it all of a sudden, telling her that his mother had invited some people over for a barbecue and asked her if they could reschedule. He hadn't told her it had been because he had just seen Hanna for the first time in a year and a half, and that he had spent the rest of the night lying in his bed, dumbfounded and numb. Kira had been the last person on his mind that night.

"So when are we going to hang out Caleb? I thought you were looking forward to hanging out soon, we haven't even been on a proper date yet."

"Kira, I am. But I'm seeing Aubrey today and…" She cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

"So she comes first now?" She huffed, clearly annoyed; with the way that his facial expression changed, she knew it would have been better to keep her feelings to herself. Her heart dropped when he shifted away from her and stood up, a look of anger on his face as he crossed his arms.

"She's my daughter Kira! She will always come first."

Kira stood up as well, angry about being pushed aside again, "You don't even know if she is! I heard William say that you need to do a DNA test and honestly I agree, you can never be certain!"

Caleb looked at her incredulously, her hurtful words stunning him momentarily. "Are you saying that you think Hanna would lie to me?" He challenged her.

"Caleb, nothing in life is certain," She tried carefully.

"I'm certain about Hanna," He stated as he got up from the ground, moving away from Kira, "I've got to go, I'm meeting Hanna and Aubrey in an hour."

"Wait, just like that?" Kira asked in shock.

"Just like that," He said angrily.

"But don't you want to go for lunch anymore?" She squeaked.

"I'm not hungry anymore," He replied aggressively, before leaving her by the stables to stare after him.

 **XxxxxX**

"I'm so hungry," Caleb groaned whilst he checked if Aubrey was safely strapped into the back of his car, "Can we go somewhere for an early lunch first?"

Hanna sat down in the driver's seat and looked at him in surprise, "Why are you already hungry? Don't you have food at the house?"

"I skipped breakfast," Caleb said offhandedly.

Hanna immediately understood that something had happened before he arrived at their hotel, just like she had expected. She had not missed the look of anger lingering on his face when she had opened the door to him. Even though he had smiled warmly at her and Aubrey, she could tell that he was upset about something. She knew that he would tell her eventually, but she didn't expect an explanation to come as soon as it did.

"William and I got into this argument and I just wasn't hungry afterwards," He said simply, not wanting to dwell on the subject of their argument, especially when he was around Hanna. He wasn't sure that he wanted Hanna to know about what William had asked him to do.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, observing the way that he took a long moment before he finally met her gaze and shot her a tight-lipped smile.

"Maybe later, right now all I want to do is get some food and hang out with you and Aubrey," He said in a much happier tone, parking his car near a restaurant that he had looked up a few days ago.

"How about that place?" He asked Hanna, pointing at it.

Hanna looked at it approvingly as she got out of the car, and Caleb nearly sprinted to the other side of the car to unbuckle Aubrey's car seat. He was slightly disappointed to see that she was fast asleep; he loved spending every waking moment with her.

He watched as Hanna skillfully lifted Aubrey from her seat and placed her in her stroller, being careful not to wake her up.

"Have you been here before?" Hanna asked him as began walking. He never answered, and so she looked back to find out why. He was staring at her, and seemed to hesitate before he spoke. "Caleb?" She asked; he looked up at her with a shy smile.

He scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. Hanna was wondering what he was struggling to say. She raised her eyebrows at him slightly, which seemed to spur him on.

"Could I… could I push the stroller?" He asked quietly.

"Oh," She said in surprise, before she let go of the stroller, "Of course you can," She added with a bright smile. She hadn't expected that. Caleb looked really excited as he stood behind the stroller and started walking them towards the restaurant. He had a proud smirk on his face, and his eyes were focused more on Aubrey than they were on anything else.

 **XxxxxxX**

"Thank you for that Caleb. I didn't think I was hungry, but the food was amazing, and I can tell that Aubrey liked it," Hanna said happily as they took the long way back to Caleb's car, Aubrey happily perched on Caleb's arm. He was holding her carefully against his chest, and one of her chubby arms was hanging around his neck.

"It was my pleasure. I honestly didn't know that she could eat that much. I thought you… you know…"

Caleb mimicked Hanna breastfeeding for a moment before he continued rubbing Aubrey's back softly. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment when Hanna laughed at his explanation.

"I don't really do that anymore, I'm trying to get her onto solid foods and I'm cutting back on the breastfeeding," She said with emphasis on the last word still laughing at his flushed cheeks.

Caleb raised his eyebrows at her and smirked, but didn't give her the satisfaction of responding to her little jab. He knew they were getting along again, but he didn't want to test the boundaries of their newfound friendship just yet.

When he went to cross the road, he suddenly noticed that Hanna wasn't next to him anymore. He looked back to see that she was standing in front of a baby boutique taking a photo, presumably of something she liked. He looked into Aubrey's big brown eyes as he walked over, "I really hope you don't like shopping as much as your mommy," He groaned.

"Mommy!" Aubrey echoed enthusiastically, pointing to where her mommy was still staring at the window display.

"Why don't you go inside, it's easier than taking a photo," He said as he approached Hanna.

"I can't!" Hanna said as she turned around to look at him.

"Why?"

"Because I got what I need, can we just go now?" Hanna said, trying to push the stroller past Caleb. He could tell how uncomfortable she was, but he didn't know why.

"No," He said as he stopped her from passing him with the stroller. He looked at her as Aubrey played with his hair, "We are not going anywhere until you tell me why you don't want to go inside, you live for shopping."

She was hesitant for a while. She really didn't want to discuss this right in front of the very store that she didn't want to enter, nor did she want to get all emotional as she finally admitted to herself why she had been avoiding going into places like this ever since she had become a mother. Hanna looked at Caleb and crumbled under his intense stare.

"B... because Caleb…" She started before swallowing, "Because people that work in places like this look down on me, like I'm some poor single teen mom who dropped out of high school and has no prospect in life. Like I am someone they should pity. The moment I walk into any of these places, they all look at me like I won't be able to afford anything anyway, as if I'm just kidding myself."

Caleb looked at her as she blurted it all out, and he knew that she was talking this fast to get it over with and to avoid getting emotional over it. His gaze softened as he saw how much Hanna was struggling to keep her tears at bay. He placed Aubrey carefully back in the stroller and turned to face Hanna; she wasn't meeting his gaze, and so he reached out to cup her chin, tilting it slightly so that she had no choice but to look up at him. Her resolve crumbled the moment her eyes met his genuine brown orbs.

"Hanna, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Having a baby does not define you as a person. You are the most amazing mom and person that I have ever met, and you should be nothing but proud of yourself for everything you have accomplished. Don't let anybody tell you that you are anything less than perfect," He said with confidence, cupping her cheeks in his hands as he leaned in closer, "Because you are, you are perfect," He added in a whisper against her skin as he placed a sweet kiss on her cheek, his lips coming dangerously close to the corner of her mouth.

It was over before she knew it, yet his sweet, torturous gesture had left her entire world shaking. His lips, his smell, his closeness, even for a second, still had an earth shattering effect on her. It took her a long moment to realise that Caleb was speaking to her again.

She nodded at him as he spoke, though his words didn't register in her mind. She followed him blindly into the store.

 **XxxxxX**

It was worth it, Caleb thought to himself as he pulled the massive duffle bag from his car, looking at Hanna and Aubrey in the distance. He had watched Hanna closely in the boutique, wanting to do something special for her to make up for lost time. He had followed her around quietly, pushing the stroller as she pulled dress after dress from the racks, trailing her hands over the soft material of some of them with a longing look in her eyes. He had made sure that she didn't see him taking some photos as she did so. Finally, after staring at three of her favorite dresses for a long time, she had managed to settle on one dress that she wanted to buy and had made it to the check out.

She put up a great fight when he pulled out his wallet to pay for it, but she finally backed down when he whispered that this was his first time buying anything for Aubrey. He made her promise that she would at least send him a photo of Aubrey wearing it. The smile on her face as he handed her the bag had meant a great deal to him.

He grinned to himself as he made his way over to where his little family was, not wanting to miss any time with Aubrey.

 **XxxxX**

Hanna had just finished applying sunscreen on Aubrey's back when Caleb approached them again, making himself comfortable on the massive beach towel that Hanna had brought along. She rummaged in her bag for Aubrey's sippy cup and her sunhat as Caleb pulled out something wrapped in bright wrapping paper, moving closer to Aubrey to give it to her.

"What's that?" Hanna asked as she watched Aubrey take the wrapped gift from Caleb, shooting him her biggest smile yet; he reciprocated it, chuckling slightly.

"I was passing the toy store yesterday after work, and couldn't help but stop and see if I could find anything for Aubrey," He admitted as he watched Aubrey, who was getting frustrated by the wrapping paper because she couldn't rip it.

"I thought you said that dress was the first thing you ever bought her," Hanna chuckled.

"Humour me Hanna," He said, before helping Aubrey with the wrapping paper until she could open the rest herself. Under the paper was a bright pink bucket and spade for the beach, and a plastic tea set. He watched for a moment as Aubrey picked up the teapot and put it in her mouth to investigate.

"That's one happy customer," Hanna said as Caleb watched Aubrey in awe; she was pottering around with her newly acquired toys. His attention shifted when he caught sight of Hanna taking off her dress out of the corner of his eye; he was instantly distracted as he looked at the bikini she was wearing underneath, and tried not to stare at her as his eyes glided over body, involuntarily landing on her chest. He swallowed hard and tried not to dwell on how good her chest looked in her bikini top. Why, of all things, did she have to be wearing a red bikini? He breathed deeply through his nose and forced himself to look at anything but Hanna. He swallowed hard before he managed to find his voice, and decided to ask her something to get his mind off her.

"So what is your mom doing today?" He asked, leaning back on his arms as Aubrey, who was perched between his outstretched legs, happily played with the bright pink bucket and teacups that Caleb had bought her. She was filling the cups with sand and emptying them over and over again, much to her delight.

"My mom is enjoying a well deserved break. I'm pretty sure she's determined to get some reading done," Hanna said, crossing her arms over her stomach having felt Caleb's eyes on her as she took off her dress.

"She doesn't mind me stealing Aubrey away from her? Surely she came with you on this holiday so that she could spend some quality time with the both of you?" He asked apprehensively. He didn't want Ashley to feel left out, or to feel that he was stealing her precious time with Aubrey away from her.

"I'm sure the farmer's market and the zoo yesterday were more than enough quality time for her," Hanna chuckled, "And she understands how much it means to you to spend some time with Aubrey," She added quietly, her eyes falling on Aubrey, who squealed loudly as she emptied out the contents of her bucket over Caleb's foot and ankle, before wiping off all the pebbles and investigating his toes as he wriggled them for her enjoyment. Her shrill giggles filled the air as she tried to grasp Caleb's big toe in her fist, and only grew louder with every movement he made. She was happily waving her arms whenever Caleb moved his toes, until she suddenly managed to grab his big toe and brought her mouth to it to investigate.

Caleb gasped loudly and pulled his foot away quickly. "No!" He yelled out a little too loudly; Aubrey's lower lip started to quiver at his sudden movement and reaction. "No, oh no, don't cry," He said in shock, looking uncertainly at Hanna. He wanted to pick her up to console her, but wasn't sure how, and whether or not she would let him.

Hanna saw his silent struggle, "You can pick her up, it's fine."

Caleb was quick to react, picking Aubrey up and holding her tightly against his chest, rubbing his hand over her back and bouncing her up and down softly until her cries subsided. Eventually, she relaxed in his arms, laying her head on his shoulder whilst looking at her mommy from where she was cuddled against her daddy. Caleb sighed deeply, and took in her comforting baby smell. He was sure that there wasn't a better feeling in the world than having his baby calm down and relax in his arms. He looked over at Hanna, who was watching them with adoration.

"Stay like that!" She murmured quietly, rummaging in her bag before whipping out her phone and quickly snapping a few photos of Aubrey and Caleb. Aubrey soon got other ideas, but Hanna was surprised that her baby had stayed put for so long in the first place. She was clearly comfortable in Caleb's embrace.

"She's very comfortable with you," She said simply, wishing that they would have stayed like that forever. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Caleb and Aubrey together.

"Han?" Caleb asked quietly, breaking the comfortable silence as Aubrey sat up in his arms and looked at him with her big brown eyes. Caleb scrunched up his face for her amusement; she smiled widely when he showed her his teeth, and reached for his mouth. He quickly pressed a loud kiss to her plump fist and she pulled it away, giggling loudly and wriggling in his arms. Caleb laughed at her antics and gently put her back down on the blanket, the warm breeze blowing through her blonde strands of hair. He looked at Hanna, who was gazing at him with raised eyebrows.

"What?" He asked, still smiling as he kept glancing at Aubrey; he was unable to peel his eyes away from her for too long.

"You were about to ask me something?"

He thought for a moment, "Oh, yeah! Remember that night when you came to my house for the first time?"

"Yeah," Hanna replied reluctantly – she'd rather just forget about that night, and wondered apprehensively why Caleb was bringing it up.

"My mom told me you came over that night because you and your mom can't really go out for a quiet dinner because of this little one," He said, nudging his head towards Aubrey.

Hanna was unsure what he was getting at. She remembered how she and her mother had ended up having to order room service to their room after that eventful night. She nodded at him quietly.

He looked as if he was searching for the right words before he spoke again. He looked between Aubrey and Hanna. "How about you and your mom finally go out for that dinner tonight? Just the two of you, so you can spend some quality time together?"

She smiled at his thoughtfulness, "I love that idea Caleb, but Aubrey won't just sleep anywhere, honestly she'll be a complete nightmare during dinner. It's fine, really, I'm used to staying at home with her in the evenings," She said, smiling kindly at him. She wondered why he had suggested it; did he really not understand what it was like to be a single parent?

"No, that's not what I meant," He explained hurriedly, "You and your mom go out for dinner, or drinks or whatever you want to do, and I'll stay with Aubrey," He suggested, watching Hanna apprehensively.

"You want to stay with Aubrey?" She asked in shock.

"I love being around her," He admitted, "And this will give you a well deserved break, you and your mom."

"But you don't have anything for her at your house and…" Hanna started to stutter, panic rising. The thought of letting Aubrey go anywhere without her was suffocating her.

"No," He chuckled, "I could watch her at the hotel. I could stay with her in the spare room?" He suggested, uncertainly. He hadn't missed her panic-stricken face when he had suggested watching Aubrey, but Hanna's face softened slightly as she thought about it.

"You're willing to stay with Aubrey so me and my mom can go out for dinner?" Hanna asked breathlessly.

"I'd love to, to be honest," Caleb said, "Every second I get to spend with her is worth it to me."

Hanna thought for a moment. She really didn't like being away from Aubrey, and she'd never left her with a babysitter before. She didn't see Caleb as a babysitter, though; Caleb was her baby's father, and she knew she could trust him with her life. She glanced at her baby, who was contently playing close by to her daddy.

"Please?" He asked, watching the frown on her face – she was clearly having an internal battle with herself.

"Didn't you have plans with Kira?" She asked apprehensively, though she didn't want to think about Caleb spending any time with Kira.

"Aubrey is my daughter, she comes first," Caleb said with a slight edge of annoyance to his voice; he couldn't help but remember the fights that he had had that morning, both with William and with Kira.

"But it's just so me and my mom can go out for dinner," Hanna said, still contemplating Caleb's offer.

"Hanna please, let me watch my daughter," He begged as he watched Aubrey play in the sand, brushing his large hand through her blonde hairs.

Hanna watched his endearing movements, and nodded in agreement before she could stop herself. She was still nodding when Caleb looked back at her.

"I can?" He said happily.

"Sure."

"You don't look too excited," Caleb commented. He didn't want to push Hanna into anything she wasn't comfortable with, but the need to be close to Aubrey and to spend every waking minute with her was overpowering.

"I've never been away from her for so long with anyone but my mom watching her. I trust you, it's just… it's all so new."

"I promise to keep you updated, I'll even send you a text every five minutes if that's what you want," He said quickly, worried she'd change her mind.

The massive grin on his face and his bright eyes calmed her slightly; she knew in her heart that she was doing the right thing. She watched as Caleb stood up excitedly and looked behind him.

"I'm going to get some ice cream in celebration," He said, glancing at the ice cream stall further down the beach, "Chocolate still your favorite?" He asked as he searched for his wallet.

"Actually, I'll get the ice cream," Hanna said, standing up and pushing Caleb back down, "You've already paid for lunch and Aubrey's dress, and don't think I haven't noticed the daily complimentary fruit basket and champagne that appear in our hotel room that we didn't order," She added before walking off, leaving Caleb alone with Aubrey before he could deny having any involvement.

Hanna took out her phone as she waited in line to be served, staring at the photos she had taken earlier today. She looked at the one she had taken of Caleb and Aubrey moments ago. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she took in the perfect moment she had managed to capture, Caleb looking as happy as she had ever seen him, and Aubrey leaning her head on his shoulder as if she had never been away from Caleb a day in her life. As if he'd always been there and she knew he was her daddy.

"Miss?" The vendor called, but Hanna didn't hear, not even when he called again.

"Hanna!" A voice she knew called out to her and she looked up in shock.

"Kira!" She screeched, looking at the brunette's face as she hid her phone from view, her mouth opening in shock.

"It's your turn to order," Kira said calmly as Hanna kept staring at her. Why was she here? How did she know where they were?

"Oh, right…" Hanna stuttered as she finally noticed the vendor looking at her questioningly, waiting for her order.

"Uhm, I'll have chocolate," She started, "And Caleb… uhm," She stuttered, feeling a little shaken from being in such close proximity to Kira; she was still wondering what on earth she was doing here.

"Caleb will have chocolate as well," Kira butted in, smirking at Hanna before smiling sweetly at the man, who went to grab another cone.

"No actually, make that lemon," Hanna said loudly – the man gazed at them questioningly. "Caleb hates chocolate," She smirked, looking at Kira, "He likes lemon, he always has," She added as she took the ice cream from the man, handing him her money.

"You didn't want any ice cream did you?" Hanna asked venomously as she put her wallet away and started walking towards Caleb and Aubrey, hoping that Kira wouldn't follow her. She didn't like Kira being around Aubrey, and a big part of her didn't like her being around Caleb either, though she would never admit that to anyone. She let out a silent sigh as Kira appeared right beside her, walking the same path towards her little family.

"No actually, I was coming over to check up on you, to see how you were holding up," She said in a sweet voice.

Hanna stopped in her tracks and looked at her. "Check up on me?" She asked, dreading the answer when she saw Kira smiling at her as if she knew something that Hanna didn't. Her stomach turned as she waited for Kira to answer; she was visibly enjoying the power that she held over Hanna.

"Yes, I'm surprised that you're still this happy and even buying Caleb ice cream after everything," She started.

Hanna felt nauseous at her words. "After what?" Hanna snapped. She straightened up slightly to stop Kira from knowing how nervous she was making her. She glanced towards Caleb, who was looking in their direction with a worried expression on his face.

Caleb had seen Hanna coming back from getting the ice cream with Kira trailing behind her; he had also seen how Hanna had stopped dead in her tracks when Kira had caught up with her, and he definitely hadn't missed the way that Hanna had straightened herself up. That was something she did to mask her emotions whenever she felt insecure or nervous.

His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as he realised what they might be talking about. Kira wouldn't dare, would she? He didn't know her as well as he knew Hanna, but surely she would never jeopardize his relationship with Aubrey or Hanna?

He scooped Aubrey up from where she was playing, and quickly made his way to Kira and Hanna. Before he could reach them and stop Kira from spilling anything about the DNA test.

Suddenly Hanna looked up at him.

Hanna had only looked at him like that once before.

She had looked at him like that when he had betrayed her in the worst way possible eighteen months ago.

 **XxxxxX**

 **So sorry to leave you guys hanging there, but I had to cut the chapter down in two parts otherwise this chapter would have gotten way too long and there's so much I want to cover before the Marins leave in 5 days.**

 **I know there is still no Haleb getting back together and I understand how much you want that to happen just as much as I do, but we are not there yet. If you'd like to read some good Haleb** " _ **togetherness."**_ **I've recently updated a new one shot called "Unmasked."**

 **Thank you again for the continued support, follows, favorites, reviews and pm's on my twitter account.**

 **Preview?**

 **Review?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **(Chapter 8 - part 2)**

 _Caleb had seen Hanna coming back from getting the ice cream with Kira trailing behind her; he had also seen how Hanna had stopped dead in her tracks when Kira had caught up with her, and he definitely hadn't missed the way that Hanna had straightened herself up. That was something she did to mask her emotions whenever she felt insecure or nervous. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as he realised what they might be talking about. Kira wouldn't dare, would she? He didn't know her as well as he knew Hanna, but surely she would never jeopardize his relationship with Aubrey or Hanna?_

 _He scooped Aubrey up from where she was playing, and quickly made his way to Kira and Hanna. Before he could reach them and stop Kira from spilling anything about the DNA test._

 _Hanna looked up at him._

 _Hanna had only looked at him like that once before._

 _She had looked at him like that when he had betrayed her in the worst way possible eighteen months ago._

 **XxxxX**

Caleb's heart dropped to his stomach as he reached them. The contempt and hurt on Hanna's face was evident.

He looked at her with a panic stricken expression, scared that she would take Aubrey from his arms and run away from him. He watched as the tears welled in her eyes; it crushed his heart to think that she was hurting because of him yet again.

Hanna looked at him, swallowing hard to keep her tears at bay. She bit her lip before she managed to find her voice, which wavered as she spoke. "You want a DNA test for Aubrey?" She choked out before a stream of hot tears started running down her cheeks. She looked at the perfect little girl that they had created together, who was being held in his strong arms. Aubrey's innocent brown eyes were on her mommy, and she was completely unaware of the turmoil that she was caught in the middle of as Hanna waited for Caleb's answer.

Caleb held Aubrey a little tighter against his chest as he watched the tears stream down Hanna's face, afraid that this was the last time she would let him hold their daughter. Uncontrollable rage filled him as he caught sight of the smug look on Kira's face, forgetting about Hanna's tearful expression as his emotions got the better of him.

"You told her?!" He suddenly shouted at Kira. He was unaware that Aubrey had tensed up in his arms, her bottom lip quivering due to her daddy's sudden outburst. "Have you gone crazy?" He continued as Hanna stepped forward to reach for Aubrey, who was craning her neck to look up at her daddy, "You are jeopardizing everything that means anything in my life!" He was only vaguely aware of Hanna gently taking Aubrey from his arms – she had effectively removed herself and Aubrey from Caleb and Kira's argument. She knew that it was what she needed to do, no matter how much she wanted to stay and witness everything that was happening, to hear the truth.

"I am not the one jeopardizing anything! Kira shouted back, "If you lose Aubrey over a simple DNA test, then maybe you should think about why Hanna would even get mad about it in the first place. Maybe you should consider the possibility that Aubrey isn't yours. Why can't you consider the idea that Hanna might have lied to you?"

Hanna was about to turn back around at hearing Kira's words in order to slap her face, but keeping Aubrey away from any form of harm was way more important to her than vengeance. The ice creams, however, had been discarded the moment that things had begun to heat up between Kira and Caleb. Hanna managed to make it back to their blanket, where she quickly occupied Aubrey with her new toys, and sat up straight in order to try to catch snippets of Caleb and Kira's loud voices, which were travelling across the beach alongside the soft, warm breeze.

 **XxxxxX**

Caleb had been too stunned to reply to Kira's last snide comment. He stared at her, seeing her true colours for the very first time; he did not like what he saw. "Kira, Hanna would never lie to me like that!" He shouted back angrily, starting to lose his self-control with every passing second.

"Caleb, why do you keep defending her? I thought it was you and I that were supposed to be dating, not you and Hanna!" She shouted.

"I am defending her because you are attacking her for no reason, all you're doing is ruining my life and offending the only person I've ever cared about." He shouted back, without thinking about the meaning of his words.

Caleb realised what he had said when he saw the shocked expression on Kira's face. She glanced over Caleb's shoulder to where she knew Hanna was sitting with Aubrey, before her gaze moved back to him. There were tears in her eyes, which surprised him.

"I see," She whispered in a choked voice. He had just admitted to her what, in her heart, she had known all along.

Caleb was scared to say anything else. He had known the moment that they had started hanging out a few months back that what he had with Kira didn't even come close to what he had experienced with Hanna. The first kiss they had shared didn't rock his world, and the moment that Hanna breezed back into his life, he had tried everything in his power to avoid going on that date that he had promised Kira.

He watched her as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if she was struggling to think of the right thing to say. She seemed to gather herself as she finally asked him about what had been on her mind for the past couple of days. "Are you still in love with her?" She whispered, looking up at him with her brown eyes, scared to hear the answer.

 **XxxxxX**

Hanna watched and listened as Kira and Caleb's voices quietened; she was unable to distinguish what they were saying, but she didn't miss the way in which Kira stared at Caleb long and hard, causing him to bow his head and look at his feet. She watched as they made eye contact for a long time, and talked in whispered tones. Hanna wasn't sure what was going on.

Her heart clenched in her chest when Kira eventually stepped forward into Caleb's open arms, and hugged him briefly around the waist. Hanna caught Kira's eye; the girl stared at her intently before breaking her hug with Caleb, leaving Hanna unsure as to what she'd just witnessed.

Hanna's nerves and anger came bubbling back to the surface when Caleb turned away from Kira, and began walking in her direction. He was next to her after a few strides, but Hanna was unsure about her feelings towards both Caleb and Kira.

He stood there for a small moment, just looking at her, trying to figure out whether or not he should sit down; he was worried that she would start shouting at him and tell him to leave if he did. When she didn't say anything, he sat down next to her and tried to meet her gaze, but she was avoiding eye contact at any cost. Caleb felt a flutter in his stomach, suddenly incredibly nervous as he thought about all the things he wanted and needed to tell her – he just wasn't sure where to start. Then he remembered something Toby had once told him.

" _Always apologize first."_

"Hanna? I'm so sorry about what just happened," He tried softly, scooting slightly closer to her until their arms brushed. He felt relief flood over him when Hanna tensed slightly at the contact; at least he still had some effect on her, whether good or bad. He wasn't sure if he was ready to find out which one it was yet.

"I'll get the DNA test sorted out as soon as I get back to Rosewood," Hanna said in a clipped voice. She refused to make eye contact with him as she reached for her bag, and began to pack Aubrey's things away.

"Hanna, it wasn't m-" Caleb tried before Hanna interrupted him.

"I do think that as you are doubtful of your paternity, it's best that you don't see Aubrey until you get the results back," She continued as she packed up Aubrey's sippy cup and reached for her dress.

"Hanna!" Caleb shouted, grabbing her wrist to stop her from reaching for the dress, "Look at me," He said in a much calmer voice, taking her small hand in his, "Please."

She finally looked at him with her blue orbs, which were clouded by sadness. Caleb hated the fact that both Will and Kira were the reason for which she was this upset. "Hanna, after everything that happened between us because we believed the words of others, I really need you to listen to me. Do not believe what Kira just told you, please."

"Are you saying that she was lying? Because you did get mad at her for telling me," Hanna said, still sounding upset.

"Hanna, please don't let this be another situation where we end up not seeing each other for eighteen months because we let someone else's words influence our lives," He begged. Hanna could tell that their past was still hurting him. "Parts of it are true," He continued, sighing deeply, "Remember when you asked me why I was so mad this morning?" He asked her and she nodded. "I had this massive fight with Will, because he wants to adopt me to make sure that I have the same rights as James and Clay when it comes to his heritage."

"Caleb that's amazing, that is so sweet of him! You deserve it after everything you've been through," Hanna smiled, forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at him. She was too happy to hear that Caleb finally seemed to be getting what he deserved after everything he had been through.

But before she could congratulate him by hugging him, he held up his hand and his lips formed a tight line. He looked at her apprehensively before continuing, "Hanna, before he adopts me, he wants me to ask you for a DNA test," He finally admitted solemnly. He hated the look of disappointment on her face.

"It was Will who wanted you to ask me for a DNA test?" Hanna asked in a wavering voice. She didn't know Will that well, but she had met him and he had seemed so nice. To hear that he didn't trust her hurt in a way that she couldn't explain. This was yet another situation where she had been accused of being untruthful, just because she was a young mother. A single tear fell from her eyes as she took a deep breath in. "And your mom?" She managed to choke out.

"She got into a fight with Will over it," Caleb said, happy that his mom was on his and Hanna's side, "She said that there's no reason for him not to believe you," He added softly, hoping that the idea of his mom believing her would lessen the pain a bit. "She also told him that he clearly doesn't know a Rivers when he sees one."

Hanna laughed a little at that. "Caleb, I don't want you to miss out on being a part of your family over a simple DNA test."

"You and Aubrey are my family Hanna. No real family of mine would ever threaten me with a DNA test."

"So, what are you going to do?" Hanna asked apprehensively, now feeling incredibly bad for getting angry at Caleb about the DNA test. She knew him well enough to know how much this must have hurt him as well. And now he was stuck in the middle of two families.

"I told William to get lost. I'd rather die than ask you for a DNA test," He seethed. "I didn't even want to tell you about it, I didn't want you to know what he had said," He looked at Hanna, "I knew it would make you feel sad."

"So was I the only one who didn't know? I mean Kira knew, and your mom and-"

"Well, Kira overheard us talking about it during breakfast," Caleb shrugged.

Hanna snorted loudly, raising her eyebrows, "Breakfast?"

"She lives a few houses away from us," Caleb answered indifferently whilst looking at Hanna; he saw her visibly relax as he said it. "Hanna, she didn't sleep over if that's what you were thinking," He added as he realised why Hanna was so relieved.

"I wasn't thinking anything!" Hanna said a little too quickly, "And it's not my business anyway," She added.

Caleb didn't reply; instead, he looked back at the ice cream van by which he had seen Kira talking to Hanna about the DNA test. "Doesn't matter now anyway," He said eventually, "I broke up with her."

"You what?!" Hanna asked in disbelief, making Aubrey jump and look at her mommy in shock for a moment before she sought out the safety of her daddy's arms. He pulled her close to him, hugging her tight, never wanting to let her go.

"Hanna, I nearly lost Aubrey because of her actions! She had the guts to say that need to get a DNA test sorted because you got upset over it. I don't want anyone like that in my life," He explained without telling Hanna about the question that Kira had asked him before he had walked off, nor what he had admitted to her.

"I'm sorry about that Caleb, and I'm sorry for thinking that you doubted that Aubrey was your daughter. I should have known better," Hanna sighed, "I should have never believed her."

"Hanna it's okay, really. At least now you know the truth. I never ever doubted the fact that this little bug was mine anyway," Caleb said, smiling at Aubrey as he nuzzled their noses together playfully. "She felt like my daughter as soon as I laid my eyes on her," He said, kissing her chubby cheek as he closed his eyes for a moment and tried not to dwell on the fact that he had almost lost her. "Hanna, I would never do anything that would jeopardise my relationship with Aubrey," He choked out as he tried to keep his emotions in check, "I'm already dreading you leaving in a few days."

Hanna didn't know how to respond to that; it didn't surprise her that he felt that way, but Caleb actually voicing his feelings made her feel so sad for him. He had just gotten to know Aubrey and had clearly bonded with her, and now he was being parted from her.

"We still have five days left," She answered, knowing that it wouldn't bring him any solace, "And you're always welcome in Rosewood," She added, in case he wasn't sure whether or not he would be welcome in the Marin household.

He didn't reply, he didn't have to. She knew that he didn't want to discuss their departure – before now, neither of them had even mentioned it. "Does this mean that I can still watch her tonight?" He asked nervously.

Hanna smiled and looked at Aubrey, who was starting to doze off against his chest, "Of course you can."

"Do you want me to put her in her stroller? You must be really hot with her laying on top of you like that," Hanna said, pointing at Aubrey.

"No, let her sleep, I like having her this close to me."

 **XxxxX**

"Hanna, we need to leave soon!" Ashley said, poking her head around the door to the extra room, where Hanna was giving Caleb instructions.

"She usually goes to bed between eight pm and nine pm, but if she won't go down, you might want to turn her on her belly, she likes that," Hanna rambled without taking a breath. "There's also a bottle and some formula on the desk in my room, I've already measured it, so you only have to mix it. But don't shake it when you mix it because that creates a lot of bubbles and that might give her stomach cramps," She continued nervously,

"Also, she won't go to sleep without her bunny." She held up a grey bunny for Caleb to see, and he nodded before Hanna carried on, "And she likes to have a small light on when she can't fall asleep. Also, if she keeps crying and nothing else works, you can take her out of her crib. But only do that if she keeps on crying, I'm trying to teach her to stay in bed and sleep through the night," She added hurriedly.

"Hanna!" Ashley called again as she walked into the room, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "Stop scaring Caleb, He and Aubrey will be fine," She said, giving Caleb a knowing look as he let out a chuckle. Hanna was still frowning as she looked apprehensively at Aubrey, who was perched on Caleb's lap, biting her bottom lip.

"Hanna I promise that it will be fine, and if there's anything that I need to know then I'll give you a call, ok?" Caleb tried to reassure her.

Hanna's frown diminished slightly, and she let out a small sigh of relief; she knew that she could trust Caleb with Aubrey. Despite this, seeing Aubrey bond with Caleb instantly, as well as the clear adoration that her daughter had for her daddy, scared her. The thought of losing her daughter, or having to share her with Caleb, had been present in her mind ever since she had bumped into him.

"Be good for your daddy, ok?" She finally said to her daughter, before bending down to give her a kiss.

"Daddy!" Aubrey replied loudly. Hanna sucked in a breath, not missing Caleb's look of shock, which was followed by a face splitting smile as he looked at Aubrey.

"Did she just?" Ashley whispered.

"She did!" Caleb said with an enormous smile plastered across his face as he lifted Aubrey up, kissing her cheek loudly and hugging her for a littler longer than was necessary. "Say it again," He tried enthusiastically, "Daddy."

"Daddy!" Aubrey replied, causing the adults in the room to smile at her. Caleb kept up his game, pointing at himself and saying 'daddy', then pointing at Hanna and saying 'mommy'. Aubrey was happily obliging, shouting 'mommy', 'daddy', and 'gamma' whenever Caleb pointed at one of them. He awarded her with enthusiastic hugs and kisses every time she got it right.

"We're safe to leave, don't you think?" Ashley whispered to Hanna. Aubrey seemed at ease with her father, and she knew that Caleb was capable enough to look after her for a little while. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm.

"I guess," Hanna replied reluctantly as she approached Caleb, before taking Aubrey from his arms and hugging her close, peppering her face with kisses. "Mommy loves you," She whispered against her ear before handing her back to Caleb, swallowing a lump as she prepared to leave. "Call me if there's a problem, ok?" Hanna pleaded.

"I promise," Caleb replied sincerely – he could tell how hard it was for Hanna to leave Aubrey behind, and he hoped that it wasn't because of him.

"Ok," Hanna sighed, before following her mother out of the room. She looked back at Caleb and Aubrey; she couldn't believe that she was leaving her daughter with someone other than her mom for the very first time. She tried hard to compose herself as she walked through the door.

 **XxxxxX**

"I really would appreciate it if you could at least pretend that you're enjoying yourself," Ashley sighed, looking at her daughter.

Hanna was glancing at her phone for the umpteenth time that evening as she absentmindedly sipped her drink. Before she could reply, or roll her eyes at her mother, her phone buzzed loudly on the table and she lunged to grab it. She sank back into her chair and relaxed as a smile appeared on her face. Finally, she turned the phone around for her mother to see. Caleb had sent her a photo of himself on the bed with Aubrey, who was cuddled up against his chest clutching her bunny. He was reading a book that Hanna didn't recognise to her.

"Awww," Her mother gushed, taking her time to look at the photo, "Do you feel more at ease now?"

"A little bit," Hanna mumbled, quickly typing a reply to Caleb, thanking him for keeping her updated.

"Hanna, he's a good father, and as far as I can tell, Aubrey adores him," Ashley tried in an attempt to comfort her, but instead she saw Hanna stiffen in her seat. Suddenly Ashley understood what was going on in Hanna's mind. "Hanna, Aubrey will still love you. You're not losing her because you've let Caleb come into her life."

Hanna smiled weakly, "I know mom, it's just all so sudden, I never thought he'd be in her life. At least not until she started asking questions."

Ashley looked at her daughter, and gently laid her hand on top of hers. "I think that this is a blessing in disguise, at least now she will grow up knowing who her father is."

"I'm pretty convinced that Caleb will make sure she'll never forget that he's her father," Hanna said, only half joking.

"So, what did you do today? I mean you didn't say much when you came back from the hotel room. Did you have a good time?" Ashley asked, observing Hanna's reaction to her questions as their food arrived.

"It was actually a lot of fun. I was really nervous about it, but we had a good time. Caleb took us for brunch first, and even took us shopping," She started enthusiastically, before showing her mother a photo of the dress that Caleb had bought for Aubrey.

"He picked that dress out himself?" Ashley asked in surprise. She would have never guessed that the boy with the beanie hat and the grubby clothes would have picked something so delicate. Though, Caleb did have a very soft side to him, underneath his cheeky exterior.

"I picked it out but he bought it," Hanna explained, "He practically begged me to let him pay for it because he said it would be the first thing that he'd ever bought for Aubrey."

"That's very sweet," Ashley smiled, "Seems to me that he's taking his role quite seriously," She smirked before taking a sip of wine.

"He is," Hanna nodded, wondering if she should ask her mother for some advice concerning the argument that Caleb and William had had. But before she could make a decision, her mother had already managed to read the look on her face.

"Spill it Hanna, you'll feel better if you just say it."

Hanna sighed and took a sip from her mother's glass of wine, which earned her a warning look from her mom – they were in a public place. "Kira showed up on the beach, when I was buying us some ice cream," She started, "She told me that Caleb wanted to get a DNA test to make sure that Aubrey was his. But," She added quickly as she saw her mother's reaction, "Turns out it wasn't Caleb who wanted to get the test done, it was his step father. Will has told Caleb that he wants to adopt him, to make sure that he has the same rights as his brothers. He would be taken care of financially, but first he needs to make sure that Aubrey is really his, because she would become his immediate heir."

"And what did Caleb say?"

"He told William to get lost," Hanna grinned; she could only imagine the angry words that he must have shot back at William.

"Is that what he said to Kira as well?" Ashley asked, wiping the smile right off of Hanna's face.

"They got into a fight, but I took Aubrey away from them when they started shouting. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but he told me afterwards that he broke up with her," Hanna added in a much quieter voice, trying not to smile at the memory; she hated Kira after she had smirked at her in the boutique, when her mother had bought her her new dress. She had made her feel inadequate and insecure, and those feelings had only intensified after she had told Caleb not to trust her.

"Are you happy that they broke up?" Ashley asked rather bluntly, having noticed Hanna's attempt at masking her smile.

Hanna shrugged – she didn't want her mom to think that she was being heartless, but she didn't want her to think that she was on Kira's side either. "Don't care," She lied, taking a bite from her food whilst avoiding her mother's gaze. Ashley already knew she was lying – Hanna could tell because her mom had crossed her arms over her chest, and was staring at her as she waited for her daughter to meet her gaze.

Finally, Hanna lifted her head and looked at her mother. Her bright blue eyes were boring into hers, and Hanna crumbled under her gaze. She knew that an uncomfortable conversation was coming up by the way in which her mother was biting the inside of her cheek.

Ashley took a large sip of her wine before asking what she had been wondering for a few days now.

"Are you still in love with Caleb?"

 **XxxxxX**

"It's so quiet," Hanna whispered as they entered their hotel room – only the soft humming noise of the mini bar could be heard.

"You don't think he fell asleep?" Ashley asked her daughter, glancing at the door which led to Aubrey's room. Before she could move another inch, Hanna had already opened the door and disappeared from view. Ashley still couldn't hear anything, and started to follow Hanna.

"Mom, come look at this," Hanna whispered, smiling as she appeared in the doorway, before nodding towards the room.

Ashley followed Hanna, and the sight before her melted her heart. Caleb was fast asleep on the bed, lying on his back with a peaceful look on his face. Aubrey was on his chest, her face buried in the crook of his neck, the top of her head touching his chin. His arm was wrapped protectively around her back as they slept. Hanna couldn't get enough of the endearing sight, and nudged her mom with the aim of alerting her to the fact that Aubrey had Caleb's shirt clumped in her dainty fist. The baby blue blanket that Hanna had taken from Caleb's house on that first night had been laid over Aubrey's legs and the rest of Caleb's body.

"I want to take a photo, but I don't want to wake them up," Hanna smiled.

"Take a mental picture instead," Ashley whispered back, giving her daughter a pointed look as she walked back towards the door, "Goodnight Hanna."

"Goodnight mom," Hanna said quietly, watching her mother close the door behind her before she walked towards the bed. She stood there silently for a minute, just watching Caleb and Aubrey sleep. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she silently wished that this could be a sight that she'd see every night, for the rest of her life.

She thought about what her mom had said about taking a mental picture, and smiled to herself. It had been her mother who had told her about all those nights that she used to sit with Hanna in her arms, just staring at her perfect baby, trying to take a mental picture. Maybe Hanna couldn't come home to this every night for the rest of her life, but she could definitely take a mental picture of it.

Quietly, she bent down to take her shoes off, and grabbed the blanket which was bunched up at the end of the bed. She laid down next to Caleb, and turned on her side to watch them sleep.

 **XxxxxX**

" _You know you love someone when you can spend the entire night, just sitting by the fire watching them sleep."_

 _*Evelyn Ryan*_

 **Massive thank you to hannarivers for helping me out once again! You are amazing and I am so grateful!**

 **If you haven't yet. Halebxxx has updated a surprise chapter for Keep hold of my heart. You should totally check it out.**

 **Preview?**

 **Review, yes please**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Uncles**

Caleb wasn't sure what had woken him up; even though he was used to waking up earlier than most teenage boys due to the fact that he had energetic younger brothers, he was sure that he could sleep until dawn if left undisturbed.

But there he was, slowly waking up as his eyes stayed shut. His body was aware of the unusual surroundings, different smells filling his nostrils as his brain tried to figure out where he was. The vaguely familiar, sweet smell of perfume and almond shampoo filled his nostrils. He tried to stretch out lazily, but something kept him in place. He attempted to lift his left arm, which felt heavy and dead, but something was pinning it to the bed.

It all came back to him at once. Aubrey! He was watching Aubrey last night, and must have fallen asleep with her on top of him.

His eyes searched for her tiny body with his hands – she should have been on his chest still. He than ran his hand over whatever was pinning him down to the bed… it didn't feel like her body. He desperately tried to figure out where her legs and head were located on his chest without having to open his eyes, not wanting to deal with another early morning.

He opened his eyes in shock when her body stirred due to his touch.

He blinked a few times; it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. All he could see was a mop of messy blonde hair splayed over his chest. The hair wasn't Aubrey's, and the thing pinning him down to the bed was Hanna's arm – it was laying over his chest, holding him close to her. Their legs were tangled together like they'd been after they'd spent their first night together in a tent.

Moving slowly so as not to wake Hanna up, he glanced at the little cot next to his bed, where Aubrey was still fast asleep. He wondered what had caused him to wake up, before laying his head back against his pillow and sighing in relief. Hanna had moved Aubrey to the safety of her cot when she had come back to the hotel. He looked back at Hanna, and brushed some of the blonde strands from her face so that he could look at her features. She was fast asleep, and looked completely relaxed against his chest. He smiled as he took some time to observe her face, wondering how she had ended up there.

Carefully, he let his hand trail over her delicate features. He took in her long lashes and her closed eyelids, which were currently hiding the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. His eyes then moved down to her rosy lips, which were closed softly. He swallowed as he tried not to dwell on the fact that he desperately wanted to kiss her, to experience that closeness once more. Never again had he been able to feel like he did when Hanna kissed him. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath before looking at her once more. The hand that was still on her face brushed over her cheeks, which were void of the dimples that used to be there whenever she looked at him. He brushed a stray eyelash from her face, and blew it over to the other side of the room before his hand settled on her shoulder. He couldn't stop staring at her; he was thankful for this moment, because he could be in her company without her having the chance to build up her walls and keep him at bay.

Only now, with their bodies in close proximity, did he realise how much he had missed her. He had missed being able to see her every day, being able to talk to her and just spend time with her. With everything that had happened in the past days, and after finally being able to meet Aubrey, he hadn't had the time to think about how much he'd missed her.

The day that they'd parted ways, she had left him with a large gaping hole in his heart, a hole that only Aubrey had managed to fill. But that was with a whole other kind of love.

Caleb sighed deeply, wishing that they could stay like this forever. He brushed the remainder of her hair from her face, and bent forward to place a soft kiss against her forehead. He stilled for a moment, taking in the smell that was Hanna, before closing his eyes and letting his lips meet her soft skin.

She didn't wake up, and he was secretly glad. This was better, this would be his secret. He relaxed against the mattress and closed his eyes, feeling content as took in the sight of Hanna in his arms, and their daughter sleeping safely in her cot.

He knew that when Hanna opened her eyes, it would be over. She would freak out and apologize for falling asleep on the bed.

 **XxxxX**

Hanna had tried so hard to keep her breathing steady, despite the fact that her heart was racing at a million miles an hour. It was beating so loudly that she was surprised Caleb couldn't feel it pounding against his hand, which was resting softly upon her shoulder. She fought to keep her eyes closed, and pretend that she was still asleep when she felt his piercing gaze moving across her features. His hand brushed over her face so tenderly that goosebumps erupted all over her body, and she struggled to keep herself from biting her lip.

She knew that now would be the perfect time to pretend to wake up. She couldn't keep pretending that her heart and body weren't reacting to his touch for much longer.

But then she felt him shift, and tried to keep her breathing steady again as she anticipated his next move. She attempted to contain a shuddering breath that threatened to fall from her lips as he moved closer, his long hair tickling her skin, the musk like smell that was Caleb surrounding her as his face hovered close to hers.

A warmth flooded her body as his lips connected with her forehead; every part of her screamed for more, and Hanna battled the instinct to open her eyes, to reach for him and kiss him until nothing in the world existed but them.

The moment was over before she knew it. She felt him pull away to lay back against the bed, his body relaxing underneath her as his hand came to rest on the small of her back. His breathing evened out, and she wondered when her heart would stop pounding.

 **XxxxX**

Caleb knew that he'd been right. Embarrassed didn't come close to describing how Hanna was behaving when she stirred and found herself in very close proximity to his body. She had blushed profusely and stuttered an apology, her eyes never quite meeting his. Caleb wasn't surprised that she was embarrassed, but it did surprise him that she was unwilling to meet his gaze, as if something had happened between them. Only when her tired brain registered that Aubrey was missing from the bed did she finally look at him; panic rose in her chest until Caleb closed the distance between them and calmed her down by turning her body towards the crib, where Aubrey was sleeping despite the fact that both of her parents were awake.

"Did you forget you put her there?" Caleb asked as Hanna let out a breath of relief when she saw Aubrey safely tucked up in her crib.

"I didn't, I think my mom must have moved her," Hanna admitted, knowing that she would have to explain how she had ended up on the bed with Caleb now.

"Your mom?" Caleb asked, just as she had predicted.

"Yes. When we came back, Aubrey was asleep on your chest and she looked so cute. I always watch her sleep before I go to bed, and I didn't think that it would do any harm if I laid down to look at her for a moment," She said in a small voice, avoiding the fact that she had been staring at him as much as she had stared at Aubrey. "I only planned to be there for a minute or so, but I think I must have drifted off," She said apologetically as she finally looked at him, still embarrassed about the fact that she had woken up wrapped in his embrace, his hand trailing over her face.

"I'm sorry for…" She started, but he waved her apology away. She held his gaze, wondering whether he would say anything about what had happened that morning. But he didn't. He must have been convinced that she had actually been asleep, and she promised herself that she would never tell him the truth.

"Hanna it's fine, it's not like we're complete strangers or anything right?" Caleb comforted her – he already missed their closeness.

She smiled back at him and craned her neck to look over his shoulder. He turned to see what she was looking at, and smiled when he saw that Aubrey had woken up. He made his way to Aubrey's crib, and saw that she was trying to get onto her feet. She looked around her room, her brown eyes lighting up with excitement as soon as her father's face came into view.

"Daddy!" She yelled loudly, kicking her plump feet enthusiastically against the mattress as she waited for her father to pick her up, which he did instantly.

"How long did you practice saying 'daddy' with Aubrey for?" Hanna asked amusedly, watching the two interact. Caleb peppered her face with kisses and Aubrey giggled hysterically as she tried to get away from his face, only to reach out to him again when he moved away.

"Not that much," Caleb mumbled, though he didn't dare to look at Hanna as he said it. He would never admit that he spent a good two hours teaching Aubrey to say daddy after Hanna and her mother had left, probably pushing Aubrey to the point of exhaustion.

"I see the whole family is up," Came a voice from the door as Ashley poked her head around it, having heard their voices from her room and therefore knowing that it was safe to enter. With the way that she had walked in on them last night, all cuddled up together in the middle of the bed, she wasn't too sure what she would walk in on this morning. But death glare that Hanna shot her as soon as she uttered the words 'little family' told her everything she needed to know.

"You should get ready for breakfast. Hanna and I can get Aubrey dressed whilst you take a shower," She said as Caleb handed Aubrey over to her, "You can use the shower in this room," She said, gesturing towards the bathroom.

"Actually, I should go and help my mom before you guys come over for lunch later," He replied, gathering his shoes from the foot of the bed and pulling them onto his feet.

"Are you sure Caleb? You're welcome to join us," Ashley pressed.

"Yeah, she's already called a few times," He explained, holding his phone out before making his way to the door, where Ashley was standing with Aubrey. "See you later Han?"

"Yeah, I'll text you when we're on our way, it all depends on what time she wakes up."

Caleb smiled and looked at Aubrey, who awarded him with a wide smile. "Bye Bree," He whispered, pecking her chubby cheeks. He waved at them before disappearing through the door.

Ashley watched him go before her eyes fell back on her daughter, who was busying herself by smoothing out the bed sheets. Hanna could feel her mother staring at her, and knew exactly what she was about to ask. "Nothing happened! So don't even go there," She said without looking up.

"Hanna, I wasn't going to. Just a friendly reminder that even though the three of you looked very sweet together last night," She started, making Hanna's cheeks turn red, "Rules about boys in the house, your bedroom or hotel room in this case, still apply."

"Nothing is going to happen," Hanna mumbled, looking at her mom, who shook her head in response. She had an annoying smirk on her face, as if she didn't believe a word that her daughter had just said.

 **XxxxxX**

"Back where it all began huh?" Ashley asked Hanna as they pulled up to the impressive mansion that was the Dawson's residence.

"I'm sure this time it won't be as dramatic as the first time we were here," Hanna said, driving up to the gate and waiting for Caleb to open it up so that she could park on their driveway, as instructed.

"There's your proof that it won't be," Ashley said, nodding towards the door, where Claudia was sprinting out towards their car. James and Clay were hot on her heels, their faces beaming with excitement.

"I can't believe that she didn't demand to see Aubrey earlier to be honest," Ashley mumbled as she watched her.

"Oh, she has," Hanna chuckled, "But Caleb wanted to get to know Aubrey himself before his mother met her properly."

Hanna caught Claudia's eye as she parked up; the older woman was waving excitedly to her as she walked towards the back of the car, where Aubrey's car seat was buckled in. She glanced into the car to catch a glimpse of her little granddaughter, who was sleeping peacefully.

"I told you that she falls asleep as soon as the car starts," Came Caleb's voice from behind her, walking up to the driver's side of the car before opening the door for Hanna. He then went to the back of the car to unbuckle Aubrey's car seat, and watched as his mother strode over to Hanna before embracing her in a tight hug. He couldn't help but smile – he knew both of them were nervous to see each other again.

"I'm so glad that you're here Hanna," Claudia whispered into her ear, "I cannot thank you enough for this," She added before finally letting her go and moving over to Ashley, who had joined them.

"Ashley," Claudia greeted her before opening her arms in order to hug her, "It's great to see you again."

"Great to see you too Claudia, thank you for having us."

"The pleasure is all mine," Claudia grinned broadly as she watched her eldest son carrying his daughter into the house, James and Clay watching in awe.

Aubrey finally opened her eyes fifteen minutes into the visit, and Claudia was right there to meet her when it happened – this was the first time that she had looked into her eyes with the knowledge that she was her granddaughter.

Claudia remembered the first time that she'd laid her eyes on Aubrey when she met Ashley at the beach. She had known back then that there was something special about the baby with the blonde hair and deep brown eyes. Even then, the tiny blonde had caught her attention, and now she knew why.

This beautiful little girl was her granddaughter, without a doubt.

"I still have to get used to being a grandmother," She said in a quiet voice as she watched Aubrey take in her surroundings with wide eyes, before she saw the familiar faces of her grandmother Ash, her mommy, and her daddy. She grinned at them happily, showing her two teeth as she reached towards them. Caleb leaned forward to lift her from the car seat and sat Aubrey on his lap so that she could look around properly, and get used to all the new faces that were surrounding her.

"I'm still getting used to being a grandmother too Claudia, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the being called that," Ashley chuckled as she watched Caleb handling Aubrey as if he was born for it.

Claudia gasped and looked at Hanna and Caleb in surprise when Caleb approached her with Aubrey in his arms, holding his daughter out for her to hold. Both nodded at her, and she quickly put down her drink down on the table so that she could hold Aubrey for the first time. She took her into her arms, enjoying the warmth and sweet baby smell that Aubrey brought with her. Claudia couldn't help but hug her granddaughter close to her, closing her eyes and rubbing her back softly as she swayed them a back and forth a few times, savouring the memory.

Finally, she loosened her grip a little and perched Aubrey on her lap. She ran her hand through the few blonde strands on top of her head as she blinked a few times. "She's so perfect," She whispered, "I don't know about Hanna, but she looks a lot like Caleb when he was a baby."

"She has Hanna's dimples and hair, but when it comes to looks, I have to agree with the fact that she looks a lot like her father," Ashley agreed, "Her personality however…" She trailed off, smiling deviously. The smile earned a scowl from her daughter. "She can be quite feisty like her mother," Ashley added as both grandmothers laughed and watched as Aubrey stared at James and Clay, who had come closer to her and were pulling faces at her to try and make her laugh.

"Do you like your niece boys?" Claudia asked them as they succeeded in making her shriek with laughter.

"What's a niece?" Clay asked.

"Aubrey is your niece because she is Caleb's daughter. Remember what I told you yesterday? I told you both that you were going to meet Caleb's baby today," Claudia explained calmly, pointing to the baby on her lap.

James and Clay both nodded at their mother and looked thoughtfully from her to Aubrey before their blue eyes landed on Caleb. James still looked a bit uncertain, but then he started to giggle.

"You can't have a baby Caleb, you need to get married first," James laughed before looking at his mother, "Right mommy?"

Claudia glanced at Ashley and Hanna apologetically before thinking fast, "Well most mommy's and daddy's get married before they have babies, but you don't _need_ to be married first to be able to have a baby."

"But you said that when I get older I need to get married first before I can have a baby," James whined loudly.

"I did, and we'll talk about that again when you're older okay?" She said in an authoritative manner, silently warning him that question time was over. However, Claudia knew that more questions were coming as she caught him staring open mouthed at Aubrey.

"Are you Aubrey's mommy?" James asked innocently, staring at Ashley, who nearly choked on her drink. She coughed a few times before she managed to find her voice.

"No honey, I'm not Aubrey's mommy," Ashley said kindly, trying not to meet Caleb's gaze. "Hanna is Aubrey's mommy," She informed him, pointing at Hanna.

James giggled even louder as he let the new information sink in. He kept looking between Hanna and Caleb, and Caleb started to feel nervous about what his brother was going to say next. He rapidly tried to think of anything that might distract James, but he was too late.

"Mommy said that you have to give each other a grown up kiss and a special hug in bed to make a baby," James informed Hanna proudly, whose cheeks turned red at his words. Caleb groaned in frustration and shot his mother a pointed look.

"James, why don't you come sit here so you can hold Aubrey?" Claudia asked James loudly, pointing to Aubrey, who was still on her lap. She was hoping that this would stop his incessant questions, even though she was silently enjoying the sweet torture that he was unleashing on his brother.

"Yeah!" He said excitedly, before jumping up to squeeze himself between his mother and Caleb. Claudia showed him how to hold Aubrey properly before she gently placed her on his lap. He squeezed his arms around Aubrey, looking very proud of himself as he held her.

"Look at you holding her all by yourself. You are such a good uncle already," Claudia gushed as she quickly snapped a photo of the pair, marveling at the small age difference between her children and grandchild.

"Can she stay here with us forever?" James asked, "She smells nice," He added, sniffing her hair.

"No, she has to go back with her mommy," Claudia interjected.

"Why?"

"Because she lives with her mommy James," Caleb answered with a slight edge to his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Hanna.

She was starting to get distracted by the way that Aubrey was fidgeting in James's arms. James looked helplessly at Caleb for help, but Hanna had already reached them. She knelt down in front of James and took Aubrey gently from his arms.

"What's wrong with her?" Caleb asked Hanna quietly.

"She's hungry and I'm still weaning her," Hanna said as she took Aubrey from James's arms; he was watching her actions intently as she started to fumble with the straps of her dress.

"Oh, do you need us to go?" Caleb whispered, but Ashley and his mother had already moved. Claudia ushered Clay out of the room and turned around to wait for James. "Come on James," Claudia called out to her son, but he wasn't moving.

"What is Hanna doing?" He asked Caleb innocently, staring at Hanna open-mouthed.

"Hanna needs to feed Aubrey, so you'll have to leave," Caleb replied shortly.

"Why? Doesn't Aubrey need to eat at the dinner table?"

Caleb groaned softly at his brother's inquisitiveness. "Because Aubrey is hungry and Hanna gives her food with her boobies, so Hanna needs some privacy."

"Oh," James said, staring at Hanna's chest momentarily before he looked at Caleb, "Are you staying because you are hungry too?"

"James!" Caleb yelled in annoyance before picking up his brother and unceremoniously placing him in the kitchen, trying to ignore his mother's sniggers.

"I'll see you in a moment okay?" Caleb asked Hanna, poking his head around the door before he closed it.

"Stay!" She said a little too enthusiastically, before noticing the look of doubt on his face, "I could use the company, besides, there's nothing to see here anyway," She nodded towards Aubrey, who was already nursing.

"Sure, okay," He said with a smile, before closing the door firmly behind him as he sat back down across from Hanna, glad to see that there was indeed nothing on show.

"I'm really sorry about my brother Hanna," He started, trying to look at Aubrey's face without making it look like he was staring at Hanna's chest. But in the end he settled for looking intently at Hanna's face, "I really thought that my mom had told them everything before you came over."

"Caleb it's fine, don't worry about it. It was pretty funny."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," He muttered, trying to fight a smile.

"Well look at it this way, you can get your payback when they're teenagers and they start dating."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"It will be your turn to tease them, being their big brother. You'll be able to tell their dates all kinds of embarrassing stories about your brothers when they were younger."

A faint tight lipped smile appeared on Caleb's face before he looked down at his feet, "I won't be around for any of that," Caleb finally admitted in a quiet voice.

"Won't be around for what?" Hanna asked, glancing at Aubrey, who seemed to have had enough. She made use of the loss of eye contact between them, quickly moving Aubrey to her lap and pushing her dress back into place. As soon as she was done, Hanna tried to catch his eye, but he only looked at her when she handed him Aubrey to burp.

He patted and rubbed Aubrey's back for a bit, just like he'd seen Hanna doing it. He knew that she was watching him, waiting for him to answer. They were yet again dipping their toes into a territory that they were yet to talk about, and he was scared about raising the subject.

"Why won't you be around Caleb?" She asked again, wondering what he was talking about.

"I won't be living here watching my brothers become teenagers," He replied – it annoyed him that Hanna wasn't catching on. This was all making it clear to him that their minds were not in the same place when it came to Aubrey, or her future.

"But why…" Hanna asked, genuinely confused.

"Because I'll be wherever Aubrey will be!" He said in a raised voice, before hugging Aubrey close against his chest; he had felt her stiffen in his arms when he'd raised his voice. He really needed to control his anger better, for the sake of his baby.

Hanna was still staring at him, stunned. "What do you…?"

"I'll be wherever Aubrey will be. Did you think I would just live happily in California forever, knowing that my daughter is living on the other side of the country?"

"No I didn't…. I didn't really think about it. We're still in high school so…"

"So what Hanna, I thought you knew how much she means to me? I've already talked to my mom about going back to Rosewood after the summer holidays, but she wants me to finish high school here first because it's so prestigious and all that," He said, rolling his eyes, "But as soon as I do, I'm going to move," He said determinedly, holding Aubrey in front of his face so that he could look at her, "I'll move to the other side of the world if that's where you'll be," He whispered to her, giving her a loving smile.

Aubrey scrunched up her little face at his words and Caleb worried if anything was wrong with her. Before he could do anything, she let out a loud burp in his face and Caleb scrunched up his face in disgust, dropping Aubrey back onto his lap.

"Holy shit Hanna. Is that why you're trying to get her off of breast milk? That's nasty."

Hanna couldn't talk, she couldn't even think straight. She was doubled over laughing as Caleb coughed loudly, trying to wave away the smell that was lingering around him as Aubrey stared at him.

"Wow, well thank you for that compliment Caleb. And no, that's not just from the breast milk. It's to do with something called the pharynx. It lets babies feed and breathe at the same time, but it also has something to do with burping, I guess," She giggled,

"Trust me, the formula burps are just as nasty," She tried to explain without laughing when Caleb didn't drop his look of disgust.

"Why did you… you know, choose to... euhm," Caleb started awkwardly, already kicking himself for raising the subject, considering how uncomfortable it made.

"Why did I decide to breastfeed Aubrey?" Hanna asked, filling in the blanks for him, trying not to laugh at his awkwardness.

He nodded at her. He felt stupid about the fact that he didn't want to say the word _breastfeed_. He tried so hard not to use the word, because he knew that if he did, he would stare at her chest. The last thing that he wanted Hanna to think was that he was some insensitive perv, who enjoyed watching his baby being fed just so that he could stare at Hanna. But he was still a teenage guy, and as he had seen at the beach, Hanna looked amazing. She had always looked amazing, and having a baby had left her with curves in all the right places, as far as he was concerned. He couldn't stop himself from staring whenever it felt safe to do so.

He looked up to see Hanna's lips moving, no doubt answering his question, but he was too late to catch her words. He noticed a slight flush on her cheeks when she stopped talking and looking down at her knees. Now he felt like a complete asshole for missing her words after he'd asked her the question, especially as it was due to the fact that images of her body were occupying his brain.

"Sorry Hanna, Aubrey was distracting me," He rasped, "Why did you breastfeed her?"

Hanna looked at him for a long time, wondering whether or not she really wanted to tell him again. Having to admit to him why she ended up breastfeeding Aubrey had been embarrassing enough, especially doing it here in his house, in this majestic room that Claudia referred to as the 'TV room' _._ Hanna wondered whether Claudia knew that the room was as large as an average apartment.

"Han?" Caleb pressed, dread filling him. He had recognised the pained expression on Hanna's face, and he understood that he had asked about something which bothered her.

"Couldn't you just pretend that you heard me the first time?" She asked annoyed as she contemplated not telling him again, but then she looked into his trustworthy brown orbs. "I had to breastfeed because I didn't have any money for formula, okay?" She snapped, blinking away some tears as the memories of those days came back to her – she had been determined never to think about them again. She stood up and bent over Caleb to grab Aubrey from his arms. Hanna perched her on her hips as Caleb stared at her open mouthed, completely dumbfounded, traces of sadness and guilt evident in his eyes.

"Now can we go into the garden?" She said in a clipped tone, "I didn't want to talk about that anyway," She said before disappearing from the room, leaving a stunned and heartbroken Caleb behind.

 **XxxxX**

 _Meanwhile_

"Trust a five-year-old to liven up the party huh?" Claudia joked to Ashley. She walked up to where Ashley was sitting on the deck overlooking the garden, and the play area in the back where James and Clay were running around, blowing off some steam. She placed two glasses on the garden table and poured each of them a considerable amount of wine. "Excuse me for assuming that you want wine," Claudia chuckled as she kept pouring it.

"You assumed correctly," Ashley smiled as she gratefully took the wine from Claudia, who sat down next to her, looking at her boys.

"So now that we have a moment alone, I need to thank you Ashley," Claudia started, "I need to thank you for everything that you have done and sacrificed. Not only have you raised an amazing and beautiful daughter, I can tell that you are a devoted grandmother to Aubrey. They are both so lucky to have you."

"Thank you Claudia, but I did what most mothers in my situation would do."

Claudia tried not to dwell too much on her own past. She knew that most women would not kick their pregnant daughters to the curb, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their back to fend for themselves. Leaving them to try and raise a baby, going from home to home. She tried to stop her trail of thought before she dwelled too much on the day she had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave Caleb behind. She breathed in deeply and took a sip of her wine.

"Claudia, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive," Ashley apologised, having seen Claudia's reaction.

"It's fine Ashley, I'm just very grateful. Not just for this moment and for being able to meet you, Aubrey, and Hanna. But also for you opening your home and heart to Caleb. He told me that he stayed with you for a while."

"He told you that? Ashley wondered, "Did he also tell you about how I kicked him out of the house when I caught him and Hanna stuck in a lip lock when they thought I wasn't home?"

"No!" Claudia laughed, "Caleb only started talking about his time in Rosewood a few days ago, after we found out about Aubrey. He told me about meeting Hanna, and about how she was the first person who didn't dismiss him as soon as she laid her eyes on him. She let him stay in the basement, right? Well, until you found out," She laughed, "Nevertheless, he managed to leave out the heavy lip locking," She chuckled.

"To be very honest Claudia, I might have been a bit too rash with my decision. I never really gave Caleb a fair chance. I didn't even know him or anything about him when I told him to get out," Ashley admitted.

"I'm sure I would have been the same if I had a teenage daughter."

"Yeah…" Ashley whispered before taking a considerable gulp of her wine, "Well kicking him out caused Hanna to run after him. They camped out for the night because she didn't want him to sleep on a bench somewhere, and low and behold, nine months later Aubrey was born," She added.

Claudia gasped audibly and covered her mouth in shock.

"I often wonder what would have happened if I didn't… If I'd never kicked Caleb out that night. Maybe nothing would have happened," She took in a shuddering breath, "I hate thinking about what it would be like if we didn't have Aubrey in our lives, but sometimes I do wonder about what could have been.

Claudia scooted closer to her and gave her a kind smile. "Ashley, don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure they would have made the same decisions, even if you'd tried to stop them. They're teenagers after all," She added, reaching over the table for the wine before topping up their glasses. She looked behind them towards the door which remained closed, meaning that Hanna and Caleb were still in the TV room.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked, dropping her voice before leaning closer to Ashley, who chuckled at her mysterious behavior.

"Ask away."

"Did Hanna ever tell you why they broke up?"

"No. I'm still waiting for that story but she refuses to talk about it," Ashley sighed, "All I remember is that Caleb had moved into our house one day, and the next day all of his stuff was gone. I tried to mend things between them, but whatever I tried didn't work. Later that night I heard Hanna crying in her bathroom, blasting some Elliott Smith, which unfortunately I had to listen to for another three weeks," She said scornfully, the memory of the depressing songs still vivid in her mind, "The crying finally subsided, only to suddenly start again a few days later, but this time it was worse than it had been before."

"Do you think that's when she found out that she was pregnant?"

Claudia watched as Ashley nodded, looking solemn. "I think so."

"When did she tell you?"

"As soon as she found out. Well, as soon as Hanna and her friends found out. Trust a teenager to share everything with her friends first. Though, I'm happy they were there for her during that time. They've been really supportive throughout all of this." Ashley managed a smile as she took another sip of her wine. Thinking back to those days made her feel sad, the anguish and desperation that she had to witness her daughter going through as she struggled with her pregnancy and all the repercussions that came with it had been just as hard on her as it had on her daughter. There was nothing that she could have done to help her as Hanna struggled to come to terms with her situation, and Ashley had never felt so helpless in her life.

"She must have been devastated."

"She was at first, but she made up her mind quite quickly when it came to the baby. She told me the baby was made out of love, and that's how she would raise him or her."

"I'm really glad to hear that. Not about Hanna having to struggle, but that they were in love, however brief the love may have been. I never understood why Caleb didn't want to talk about the time he spent in Rosewood. I knew that, whatever the reason was, he was keeping it close to his heart. One day James snuck in his room to watch 'Transformers', and found a photo of him with a girl with 'yellow hair', as James called it. And Caleb got so mad at him for looking at it. I tried to ask him about the girl in the photo, but I never anything of him aside from 'drop it mom'," Claudia added in a low voice, mimicking Caleb.

"I remember taking that photo," Ashley smiled, "Hanna was determined that they should have their photo taken. They were so in love and happy back then. It had been a long time since I'd seen Hanna that happy," She added, reminiscing, "They were so in love."

Claudia smiled at the idea. For the most part, she had only seen the solemn, guarded Caleb. But ever since Hanna and Aubrey had come into his life, she had noticed a significant change in him. He was evidently happier when he was around Hanna and Aubrey.

"Do you think they still are?" Claudia asked softly, glancing at Ashley.

"I think they are," Ashley nodded as Claudia agreed with her vigorously, "The other day I was out to dinner with Hanna, and she told me that a big chunk of her hea..."

"Ahem," Came Caleb's deep, loud voice from behind them; both Claudia and Ashley jumped in their seats.

They turned around, looking at Hanna and Caleb, who were hovering awkwardly in the doorframe. Claudia didn't need to ask how much they'd heard when she noticed the way in which both Hanna and Caleb were avoiding each other's gazes.

 **XxxxX**

 **Things are going to get a lot more interesting in the next chapter, so hang tight. If you want a preview let me know.**

 **I would really appreciate a review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Unexpected chapter 11**

 **Daddy**

"Never did I think that my own daughter would end up being my designated driver for the night," Ashley laughed as she stumbled towards her bed; Hanna had managed to help her get back to their hotel room as best as she could, supporting her mother whilst pushing the stroller, in which Aubrey was sleeping soundly.

"Me neither," Hanna laughed slightly at the sate of her mother. Though Ashley wasn't extremely drunk, she was definitely a little giddy and tipsy, or 'wine drunk', as Ashley preferred to call it. Hanna left her mother on her bed, and quickly put Aubrey in her crib before making her way back to the room that she shared with her mother.

"Did you enjoy yourself today?" Ashley mumbled as Hanna climbed onto her mom's bed and laid on top of the covers, facing her mother, who had snuggled underneath her duvet.

"I could have done without you interrogating me about my feelings for Caleb, but other than that I had a great time, all thanks to Caleb not questioning what you told Claudia… and everyone else in a two-mile radius," She laughed.

"That's because he's still in loooooove with you too," Ashley teased; Hanna rolled her eyes at her mother's childlike behaviour.

"Did Claudia tell you that?" She tried to ask casually, despite the fact that her heart was thumping in anticipation of her mother's answer.

"She kind of did, Hanna. But if you're still unsure, I can tell you now that he's in love with you. I'm a mother Hanna, moms know these things," She added seriously, pointing her finger at Hanna, her eyes unfocused.

"Okay mom," Hanna chuckled, "Drink your water before you go to sleep, you're going to need it."

She watched as her mom did as she was told and laid back against her pillow, before closing her eyes. Hanna was about to climb into her own bed when she heard her mother shift a little.

"Honey, the Dawson's lake house. Have you decided yet?"

"Thinking about it," Hanna mumbled as she climbed underneath her duvet.

"I think we should go; it will give all of us the opportunity to spend some time together," She mused, "And I really like Claudia, Han."

"Yeah I could tell that you did," Hanna mumbled.

"It will give you and Caleb some time to work things out as well, you two didn't really say that much to each other for the rest of the night," Ashley added, sleepily.

"I wonder why that was…" Hanna trailed off sarcastically, turning around in her bed to look at her mom, whose eyes were now closed.

Though her stomach still clenched at the thought of Caleb's face when he overheard her mother nearly telling the entire garden about her feelings for Caleb, the night had turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. Caleb had pretended he hadn't heard Ashley; which Hanna was very grateful for. She wasn't ready to talk or even think about it. Of course, she knew that a big part of her would always love Caleb. But things were too complicated between them now.

Hanna had been extremely surprised when William had joined them later that evening for dinner, and pulled both Hanna and Caleb aside to speak to them. He hadn't wasted any time before apologizing to both of them for his assumptions, and his businesslike behavior when it came to Aubrey. He had explained how, after the fight he had had with Caleb, he had met with his lawyers to change his will in order to ensure that Caleb would be taken care of in the same way as James and Clay; he just didn't want anyone to know about it until it was official. Hanna soon lost count of the many times that William had apologised for his actions, and felt bad for him when he expressed his desire to be a part of not just theirs, but of Aubrey's life as well.

Caleb had been frosty, saying that time would only tell. But Hanna had accepted his apologies – he seemed sincere enough. At least he was making more effort than her own father, who had seen Aubrey only once, after Ashley had told him to visit. He'd never be welcomed into their house again.

 **XxxxX**

"You gotta be kidding me, right?" Ashley grumbled as soon as she drove up to the house, which didn't even represent anything close to a lake house. Ashley had been expecting a cabin, not another villa, though the one that they were driving towards was considerably smaller than the mansion in Montecito.

"Jesus," Hanna breathed out as she looked at the beautiful villa, part of it hidden from view due to the tall trees surrounding it. "Are you certain that this is the right one?" She asked uncertainly as she checked her phone and looked up the directions that Caleb had sent her.

" _The last house on Arrow peak road…_ I'm pretty sure this is the right house," She confirmed. The road ended at the very house they were looking at; the only way back was to turn around.

"You should totally marry Caleb," Her mom whispered, her eyes still on the house as Hanna slapped her playfully.

"Mom! Please don't say stuff like that around anyone," She hissed at her, before sighing. "I always imagined that staying at Lake Arrowhead would be more _rustic_ ," She added as Ashley pulled up onto the driveway.

"Well this one doesn't have a gate surrounding the entire property, so I'm sure that this is rustic for them," Ashley joked as she watched Claudia emerge from the large double oak front door at the end of the paved driveway. She came rushing out, looking perfect as always, ready to greet them with her bright, pearly white smile on her face. Hanna watched as the rest of the family soon followed Claudia, all scrambling to get to their car first. James and Clay greeted them enthusiastically, whilst Caleb and William helped them to get their suitcases into the house. James stuck to Hanna like glue in order to get a good look at Aubrey, who he adored.

"Welcome to our humble abode," Claudia announced as soon as their luggage had been carried into the house and placed in the kitchen, which was more like a large kitchen-dining area; it reminded Hanna of the dining hall from fat camp, except for the fact that the kitchen was decorated beautifully. The gleaming wooden floors stretched throughout the kitchen and living room, and there were large windows around the rooms which treated them to a beautiful view from every angle. Hanna walked over to a particular window seat near a large stone fireplace, underneath a sky window which showed the tops of the enormous trees surrounding the property. She looked behind her to the other side of the room, where Caleb was standing near a bay window with Aubrey in his arms, pointing at something.

"Do you see all those tall trees, Bree?" He asked her softly, "There are so many birds living in those trees. I'll take you outside in a moment if mommy is okay with it, and we can go say hi to the birdies, and to the fish that live in the lake," He said in a sweet and calm voice as he pointed at the lake, which was only visible from that side of the house. Aubrey looked through the window, mesmerized by whatever Caleb was pointing at.

Hanna walked up to them in order to look out of the bay window; she wanted to see what Caleb had been pointing at for herself. It looked as if the house was on the edge of a slope or hill; she also noticed a steep dock, which led down to the lake below it. The views really were amazing. The lake was glistening in the morning sun, surrounded by the large trees growing around it. She could see more houses dotted around the lake, most of them hidden by the overgrowth.

"What do you think of the views?" Caleb asked her.

"It's amazing" She admitted, "Are the dock and garden part of the house?"

"Yeah they are, and there's a large deck on this floor as well," He nodded, 'My mom put some hammocks on it, but I'm sure James and Clay broke one when they used them as a swing last time we were here. The sunset from the deck is amazing, but there's this place on the other side of the lake that has the best views," He said enthusiastically, smiling at the thought of showing Hanna.

He turned around when his mother approached them. She looked expectantly at Aubrey, and he grinned at the thought of competing against his mother for Aubrey's attention all weekend. She didn't waste any time, and held her arms out for Aubrey with a big encouraging smile plastered across her face. Caleb pretended to be annoyed when Aubrey nearly jumped out of his arms so that she could cuddle with her grandmother; Claudia grinned victoriously, and he rolled his eyes at Hanna, who had zero chance of cuddling her baby as much as she was used to.

"Caleb, why don't you show Hanna her bedroom, and take some of her luggage upstairs?" Claudia suggested. "Hanna, I do apologise in advance, we only have four bedrooms, so you might have to share one with your mother."

"It's okay Mrs Dawson, I don't mind at all," Hanna said kindly. She was still trying to get over the beauty of the house, and the generosity that Claudia and her family were showing towards them, especially as they had only known each other for a short time. "Thank you again for inviting us here, it means a lot Mrs Dawson, I know Aubrey already loves it," She smiled and looked at Aubrey, who was surprisingly at ease and content in Claudia's arms.

"Call me Claudia, please," She smiled kindly, "Being a grandmother is already making me feel old, even though I love it," She added as James and Clay came running towards them.

"Can we go outside now mommy?" Clay begged, his big blue innocent eyes on his mother.

"In a moment, boys, Hanna and Ashley need to settle in first and then we'll have lunch," She told them, "Why don't you help Caleb show Hanna around?"

"No actually, it okay," Caleb interrupted a little too quickly. Hanna looked at him questioningly. Usually, Caleb didn't mind his brothers tagging along, and she knew that they thought that the sun shone out of his ass.

Claudia winked at Caleb when Hanna wasn't looking, before trying to help him out. "Actually boys, why don't you help me babysit Aubrey, or help me get started on lunch? I'm sure Aubrey is getting hungry," She said, ushering them towards the kitchen island.

Hanna watched her leave, a nervous feeling building inside of her. She wasn't oblivious to Caleb's dire need to be alone with her, and she could already take a guess as to why. Maybe he hadn't raised the uncomfortable subject of what they had overheard their mothers talking about yesterday yet, but knowing Caleb, he wouldn't just let it go. She dragged her feet towards the staircase that Caleb was carrying her suitcase up, and followed him up the winding stairs. Her mind was occupied as she thought of all the questions that he would probably ask her as soon as he could.

She hadn't been wrong. She made it as far as the bedroom at the end of the hall before he stared at her intently, standing in the middle of the room as he waited for her to step inside.

"Is this okay?" He asked her as she looked around the meticulously decorated room.

"Its perfect," She said as she looked at the comfortable looking beds. She watched as Caleb opened a few doors at the side of the room.

"Closet is here in case you want to unpack, though you're only staying a short while," He said; she was sure that she had caught a hint of sadness in his words. "And here," He said with a bit more enthusiasm, pointing into another room, "Is your bathroom!" He held open the door for her so that she could glance inside.

"Shit, there's a bath?"

"Jacuzzi," He corrected her.

"Aubrey is going to love that," Hanna chuckled at the thought of her baby screaming in delight.

"Actually," Caleb started as he gestured for Hanna to follow him out of the room, before crossing the landing and walking into the room right across from hers, "This is Aubrey's bedroom, if you don't mind her sleeping here."

He showed her a room that clearly wasn't usually used as a guest room. A large double bed stood in the middle, and there was a plasma TV on the wall, a TV stand with some controllers underneath it, and some toiletries on a desk by the window. There was a hamper in the corner of the room, and a towel was thrown over the back of the chair by the desk.

At the end of the bed, there was a travel cot, which had been neatly made up for Aubrey. Hanna wondered where Claudia had managed to get the pink bedding from, but she didn't dare ask.

"Are you planning on sharing with Aubrey?" Hanna asked as she realised that this had to be Caleb's room.

"How do you know it's mine?" He asked.

"I think your brothers are a bit too young for Axe and cologne, so it's safe to say that this is your room," She chuckled.

"It's not a knock off this time," He smirked as he grabbed the bottle and shook it in his hand. She groaned inwardly at the cocky grin that he shot her; it reminded her of the sassy, confident Caleb that she met in high school, the one who turned her insides into jelly whenever he looked at her like he was now. She hated that he still had the same effect on her.

"It's my room, but it's Aubrey's for now," He said, simply.

"Wait, where are you going to sleep?" She asked as she remembered Claudia's apology about only having four bedrooms. "Are you snuggling up in between your mom and William?" She joked.

"No, even better," He smiled, "I'm having a sleepover with my brothers."

"No! Caleb, you don't have to!" Hanna shook her head, "Aubrey can sleep in our room, or we can sleep here with her."

"You wanna share a bed with me?" He challenged her, enjoying the way that her face turned crimson as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, lost for words. That was not what she had meant at all.

"Hanna, it was a joke," He laughed. It was funny how they had managed to have a baby together, but had never shared a bed before; he soon began to daydream about doing just that. Caleb quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"My mom already told James and Clay that I'm sleeping in their room tonight," He informed her, "And they're already very excited."

"Are you?" She raised her eyebrows.

"You're here," He said, gazing at her, "Consider me ecstatic."

Hanna wasn't sure whether he was being sweet or sarcastic. She swallowed hard when his gaze met hers for an unusually long amount of time – she knew that if she didn't look away soon, she would get lost in his brown eyes.

"What… what does that mean?" She stuttered.

"What do you think it means?" He whispered in a low voice, his eyes full of sincerity, and a flicker of something else that she recognised. He took a step forward until he was standing in front of her, close enough that she could feel the heat emanating from his body. She tried not to dwell on his musk like scent, which had been muddling her brain ever since she had woken up in his arms the other day.

"Caleb, I don't…" She choked out, stumbling on her words. She really didn't want to tell him that her heart was pounding in anticipation, or about how much she needed to hear him say that she still meant something to him.

"Remember when Kira came to the beach when we were there?" He asked suddenly, taking Hanna completely by surprise. Kira was the last thing that she had thought he would bring up – she wondered why he felt the need to talk about her, then and there.

He watched her nod slightly, and tried to get to his point as fast as he could. "When I broke up with her, she…" He started nervously, "Well she asked me something, something that really forced me to think about something that I had been working so hard to ignore for a long time."

Hanna watched him silently, her eyes never leaving his as a small smile appeared on his face.

"She asked me if I was still in love with you," He whispered quietly, but Hanna heard him loud and clear.

"She did what?" Hanna asked in surprise, "Why would she ask you that?"

Caleb looked at her for a moment. "I thought it was pretty obvious why she asked me, Hanna," He husked when their eyes met again, blue staring into brown. They looked at each other for a long moment. Neither of them were sure what their next move was going to be, they were simply wondering what the other was feeling.

"What are you saying, Caleb?"

He opened his mouth to speak, to finally tell her how he felt about her. To tell her how much she had meant to him, and how much she still did, but the sound of tiny feet coming up the stairs made him groan in frustration. He watched the doorway as he felt Hanna taking a few steps away from him. He couldn't fight a smile, despite his frustration, when Clay poked his head through the open doorway, excited to have found his big brother.

"We made lunch!" He exclaimed excitedly, blissfully unaware of the moment that he had ruined.

"Okay bud, we'll be right there," Caleb said, glancing at Hanna, who was already straightening up, ready to follow Clay back out into the hallway.

"Han?" He whispered before she could leave the room, desperately yearning for her to stay with him. She looked back at him over her shoulder, and when he saw the expression on her face, he knew that any chance of finishing their conversation had vanished.

"We should go," She said as she disappeared from view, following Clay back downstairs to the living room.

 **XxxxX**

Claudia watched closely as Clay came bouncing back into the living room, closely followed by Hanna. She wondered what was taking Caleb so long, and was about to ask Hanna, when she noticed his black worn out boots descending down the stairs.

"Caleb, can you grab those two bowls and take them outside? Everyone is already downstairs on the deck for lunch," She informed him, pointing at the bowls before following Clay and Hanna outside to the deck. She could tell by the look on Caleb's face that it wasn't a great time to raise the subject of Hanna and Aubrey leaving, nor to ask him if he had managed to continue the conversation that they had walked in on yesterday.

Her mind was occupied by thoughts of the weird tension between the two teenagers until she reached the deck, her eyes falling on her beautiful grandbaby, who was being held by James in an awkward hug. He was leaning back, his little arms around her neck – it looked more like he was trying to strangle her than hold her. She chuckled when Ashley tried to show James how to hold her better, before giving up and taking Aubrey back into her own arms; the baby looked close to tears, glad to have been saved from the vice like grip that her rambunctious uncle had just had her in.

"Lunch is ready," Claudia called out as she saw Caleb coming down the stairs with the last of the food, and sat herself down next to the high chair that William had found in the garage. As long as Ashley and Hanna would let her, she wanted to be involved in Aubrey's life as much as possible. She waited calmly for everyone to take their seats at the two picnic tables, which she and Ashley had moved so that they were joined together.

Neither Ashley nor Claudia missed the way that Hanna seemed to have difficulty meeting Caleb's gaze – he was trying ever so hard to catch hers from the moment that he sat down. Ashley shot Claudia a knowing look. That moment had only confirmed to them everything that they had managed to gossip about without anyone but William overhearing. They wondered what on earth was going on in their kids' teenage minds, and whether they would ever stop being stubborn for one second in order to actually talk to each other and maybe, just maybe, discuss their feelings. Which were pretty obvious to everyone but Hanna and Caleb, apparently.

"Hanna, did Caleb show you your room? Did you like it?" Claudia asked Hanna, looking past Aubrey, who was sitting in between them, gnawing happily on a piece of bread as drool dripped down her shirt.

"Oh yes, thank you so much Mrs, I mean… Claudia," Hanna smiled, "The rooms are amazing. Aubrey is fine sleeping in my room by the way, she doesn't need her own room," She laughed kindly, this time meeting Caleb's gaze as she blushed, the memory of him being so close to her still affecting every cell in her body.

"That's okay Hanna," Claudia smiled back at her, "Clay and James are already so excited about the fact that Caleb is sleeping in their room, and it's only for two nights."

Claudia caught sight of Caleb's face dropping at her words, and she quickly tried to think of something, anything, to distract everyone from the fact that they would be separated in a few days. James, who had been looking back and forth between his mother and Aubrey, offered a welcome distraction.

"Why is Aubrey leaking?" He asked. His little face contorted in mild disgust as he stared at the steady stream of drool coming from Aubrey's chin as she gnawed on a piece of cucumber Hanna had handed her.

"Babies drool a lot when they grow new teeth," Hanna explained kindly, "And I think she might be teething right now."

"Oh," James nodded, thinking for a second about the information that he had just received, "Why doesn't the tooth fairy bring them?" He asked.

William decided to jump in and explain things further, knowing that James would keep Hanna occupied with a stream of questions for the rest of the day if he didn't. As they started a conversation of their own, the rest of the table were left to deal with the tension that had once again become palpable.

"Caleb, seeing as Hanna and her mother managed to get here earlier than planned, why don't you take Hanna up to the lookout point?" Claudia asked, using the short silence to try and help her son out. "We won't have any time tomorrow, and you can't stay at Lake Arrowhead without going to lookout point," She added pointedly, glancing at Ashley, who was sitting across from her.

"Uhm sure," Caleb mumbled with a mouth full of food.

"What is it?" Hanna asked as she helped Aubrey hold her sippy cup so that she could drink some of her water.

"It's a lookout point that was used to discover forest fires back in the day, but now it's just a tourist attraction," Claudia smiled, "Besides all the watersports on the lake and the lookout point, there's not much to do around here."

"Can we come?" Clay asked excitedly, looking around the table. James also looked up at his mother, his eyes full of hope.

"No! You boys need to pack your bags," She shook her head, "You're going to camp in two days, and we're not leaving it until the last minute again."

"But we're not sleeping at camp, why do we need to pack?" Clay moaned.

"Because last time you went to day camp, I had to bring you back home naked, and the cleaners never managed to get rid of all the mud stains," Claudia laughed, "So you're taking a change of clothes with you, and your swimwear."

James began to sulk at the thought of having to pack for something that seemed so far away – it didn't help that it also meant that he wouldn't be able to join Caleb and Hanna at the lookout point. "But mommy, I wanna…" He started, but his mother cut him off.

"James I said no and that's final," She told him, "We are all going to do something fun tomorrow, before you and Clay go to camp."

"Because Hanna, her mommy, and Aubrey are leaving?" He asked.

"Yes, and because Hanna, her mom and Aubrey arrived today, and they had to drive for a long time to get here, so they might be a bit tired," She smiled kindly.

"Speaking of which, I think Aubrey could do with a nap," Ashley announced, looking at her granddaughter, who was going slightly cross eyed due to her exhaustion. She stood up to pick her up from the high chair.

"Actually, I'll do it," Hanna interjected before lifting Aubrey out of the high chair, and disappearing from view before anyone could follow her. Caleb stared after her, debating with himself as to whether he should follow her or not, but once again it was Claudia who spoke before he could make up his mind.

"Caleb, you should pack a bag as well if you are taking Hanna to the look out point," She suggested.

"Because I'll get mud on my clothes?" He muttered sarcastically.

"Funny," She scowled as she heard William sniggering from further down the table. "No actually, I need you to bring an emergency backpack with you because it's already 2.15pm, and you still haven't left yet. The walk to the lake is very long, and I want you guys to be safe, remember when we hiked around the lake and we ran into a bear?"

"We only ran into a bear because you screamed so loud that it knew we were there," He laughed, remembering the first and last time he had been at the lake house, just after his mother had found him and brought him to California.

"So you understand why I need you to bring a backpack?" She asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"What's in those backpacks? A car to drive her to the lookout point?" Ashley chuckled as both Caleb and Claudia looked at her confusedly. "I have trouble imagining Hanna hiking anywhere, let alone halfway around the lake," She added, looking behind her to gaze at the enormous lake, which bordered the deck that she was currently sitting on.

"Me neither," Caleb chuckled, "But I'll just tell Hanna that it's only a little walk to the lookout point so that she'll come with me."

" _If_ she comes with you," Claudia reminded him.

Caleb was about to retort – Hanna would never pass up the chance to spend time with him in the great outdoors – but then he thought better of it when he looked at Ashley.

 **XxxxX**

"Hey," Caleb announced, making his presence known as he poked his head around the door. He looked at Hanna, who was cradling Aubrey in her arms, swaying her back and forth slightly. A trace of desperation lingered on her face, and so he stepped into the room without an invitation.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sitting on the bed next to her as Aubrey sat up straight in her mother's arms, and reached for Caleb as soon as she saw that it was him who had joined them. Caleb glanced uncertainly at Hanna, not wanting to undermine her as a mother, but she was already letting Aubrey crawl from her arms in order for her to be picked up by Caleb.

"She won't go down even though she's tired," Hanna sighed as she watched Aubrey curl into Caleb's embrace and relax. Hanna brushed some blonde strands of hair away from her face, and Aubrey looked up at her mommy from her father's strong arms, proud of herself for getting exactly what she wanted.

"Typical," Hanna sighed as she watched Aubrey gripping Caleb's shirt in her hand as he rocked her the same way Hanna had done. Aubrey's eyes drooped and eventually closed, and a trace of a smile remained on her face as she drifted off.

"Why does she just go to sleep like that with you?" Hanna asked, annoyed, "I've been trying for ages."

"Maybe because you were a bit tense? Babies can feel it," Caleb suggested without thinking, which earned him a weird look from Hanna.

"How do you know?" She asked, and he looked away shyly for a moment. "Caleb?"

"I told you, I looked up some things about babies when I first met Aubrey," He reminded her, "Clay was already two years old when I moved in with my family, and all he wanted me to do was to hold him upside down and wrestle him all day, so I wasn't sure how to act around Aubrey when I saw her for the first time."

"Well I can tell she's obsessed with you," Hanna chuckled, "I don't even exist when you're around."

"Maybe it's because I'm still a novelty to her," He shrugged.

"Don't think that's it, she's never this relaxed around new people," Hanna sighed, "But I guess you and your family are the exception."

"Do you..." Caleb started, "Do you think she understands that I'm her dad?"

"I think she does, in a way, I mean look at her," Hanna nodded towards Aubrey, who was fast asleep in his lap. Both of them smiled widely at the peaceful sight that was their daughter. "The first time she saw you, I knew she recognised you."

"Recognised me?" Caleb raised his eyebrows.

"Aubrey sleeps in your old room, the guest room at my mom's house," Hanna started, fiddling with her hands nervously. Caleb's eyes bored into hers as he waited for her to explain. "I threw all of your stuff in there when… when you left, and never looked at it ever again, so I didn't have to think about us," She took a deep breath in before continuing, "I didn't have to deal with it until we started to turn the room into a nursery for Aubrey, and I couldn't get rid of that photo of us together. The one that you still have, as well," She said, remembering how he had showed her that he'd kept it. "I didn't know what to do with it, I couldn't get rid of it, so I left it where it was. One day, I was showing Aubrey photos of her family, and even though you didn't know about her, I felt like she should know about you. I dug up that photo and showed it to her, before explaining that the people in the photo were her mom and dad," She smiled. "She kept staring at it whenever she could, until I found her munching on it one day, so I put it in a frame by her bed."

A long silence followed her words, until Hanna felt brave enough to lift her head and look at Caleb, who had remained silent the entire time. She let out a breath as she was greeted by his warm smile.

"You must think I'm an idiot for telling our daughter about her family, it's not like she would understand," She shrugged.

"No," He whispered, "Hanna, it means so much to me that you would tell her about me, even when you didn't think I would ever be in her life."

Hanna only managed a small nod as she swallowed away her tears.

"Did you give up on looking for me forever, after you couldn't find me?" He asked, his voice unsteady at the thought of never finding out about his daughter.

"I did spend a very long time looking for you, Caleb; me, my friends and my mom," She confessed, "In the end, my mom forced me to stop, because it was becoming an obsession, and she wanted me to concentrate on the baby. But you were never a secret to Aubrey, so one way or another, I wanted her to grow up knowing she had a daddy. I don't think I ever gave up hope that one day she would meet you, but I never thought that it would be this soon." She glanced sideways at him; his face was contorted as he listened. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the way things turned out Caleb, I just never imagined that I would run into you in California of all places."

"Yeah, I didn't think I would ever see you again," He admitted after a long moment. "Especially with a baby," He added as he looked at Aubrey.

"Our baby," Hanna corrected him with a warm smile on her face, "Maybe it's kismet."

"Kismet?"

"It means it's meant to be," She explained.

He chuckled slightly, and repressed the urge to pull her close and kiss her. The way she was looking at him ever so innocently, her big eyes surveying him as she wondered how he didn't know about kismet, made him miss her even more. He leaned in closer, his eyes on her, their faces inches apart.

"I know what it means, Hanna," He whispered into the small space between them, "Maybe it is kismet," He added, staring deeply into her eyes.

Hanna looked back at him, ignoring the blush that had crept upon cheeks and her racing heart as his deep brown eyes stared straight into her soul. She sucked in a deep breath of air and leaned back in order to get away from him, their close proximity too overwhelming for her. She stood up from the bed hurriedly, wanting to create as much space between herself and Caleb as she could.

The way that he made her feel was too real, too pure.

It was too much.

She could still feel his piercing gaze on her, and tried hard to look anywhere but at Caleb as she moved around the room nervously, unsure of what to do with herself as she fidgeted with her shirt and ran her free hand through her hair.

"I should… I should put Aubrey in her crib," She said without thinking. She looked over at her daughter, who was still sleeping soundly in Caleb's arms, and instantly knew that he didn't want to hand Aubrey over. Caleb left her no choice but to walk back towards him. She leaned down to lift Aubrey from his embrace, taking her warm, limp body into her arms before Caleb's hand landed on her wrist, keeping her from moving away from him.

"Hanna?" He pleaded.

"Caleb, please," She begged, as she successfully pulled away from him. She walked over to the crib and placed Aubrey in it, before covering her over with the baby blue blanket that she brought rather than the pink one that Claudia had laid in the crib.

Caleb got up from the bed, and stood on the other side of the crib as he watched Hanna, who tried to ignore him. She braced herself for whatever was coming next, and let out a breath of relief when he didn't say anything, before watching as Caleb bent down over the crib and placed a soft kiss on the top of Aubrey's head.

"Sleep tight, Bree bug," He said quietly, brushing his thumb over her chubby cheek, "Love you."

Hanna was about to tuck Aubrey in when Caleb finally spoke. "Are we ever going to talk, Hanna?"

"We talk Caleb," She shrugged, despite the fact that her stomach had dropped the moment he'd come close to raising the subject that she whished they could ignore forever.

"Yes Hanna, we talk, but you're not saying shit," He said, angrily.

"What do you want me to do Caleb?!" She asked, starting to get a little annoyed.

He opened his mouth to reply, but was too surprised to form any words. He was sure that he had been ready to argue some more, to push her to the edge until she could no longer ignore what they had overheard the other day. He changed tactics within seconds, calming down and stepping back before he spoke. "Come with me to the lookout point."

 **XxxxxX**

"How much longer?" Hanna sighed, trying to keep up with Caleb's steady pace as they climbed up a yet another hill.

"Really, Hanna?" He asked, amused, "We left thirty minutes ago, you can actually still see the house."

She stopped to look back at the house, contemplating whether or not she should run back and lock herself in her room before he could stop her.

"We're not going back, you promised you would come with me," He said, as if had read her mind. "Come here," He smiled as he held his hand out for her to take, just like he had done when they had spent the night in the woods.

She hesitated for a second, but eventually caved and accepted his hand, neither of them looking at the other as their faces broke into massive smiles. Neither dared to entwine their fingers together – they were both trying hard to act calm, as if the simple contact between them hadn't set fire to their cores.

"Now tell me the truth," Hanna spoke in a higher voice than normal, "How long until we reach this look-thingy?"

"The strawberry peak lookout tower?" Caleb asked calmly.

"You just made that up," Hanna chuckled.

"I didn't," He argued, "And if my wifi was working, I would show you that it's called just that."

"Wait, lookout _tower_?" Hanna repeated in a softer voice this time, "I thought you said lookout point, not tower."

"It _is_ a lookout point," He confirmed.

"No, a lookout point is just a point…" She trailed off, "A place on the ground that happens to have great views. A tower is something that I don't want to visit, ever."

"You'll regret saying that," Caleb laughed as he squeezed her hand a bit.

 **XxxxxX**

It had taken them another hour to reach a narrow winding path, which Caleb immediately seemed to recognise. "We're here!"

Hanna didn't know where 'here' was. All that she could see was an overgrown narrow path, which didn't seem to go anywhere. If Caleb hadn't been so enthusiastic about reaching 'here', then she would have begged him to turn around and take her back to the house. Despite the fact that they had previously camped out together, she was not enjoying this particular trip into the wilderness; her feet were aching, her hair was frizzy, her lips were dry, and she was sure that her cheeks were flushed due to the fifteen minute climb up to the path, which seemed to get steeper with every step they took.

"Caleb," She breathed heavily, her hands on her knees, "Are you sure this is the right place, there's nothing 'here'?"

He turned around to look at her, shooting her a cheeky smile. He reached for her hand and pulled her towards him, before walking back a few steps as he kept his eyes on her. Suddenly, he stopped, and glanced sideways as she followed his gaze. They were finally there; they had reached an enormous clearing, in the middle of which lay a massive wooden structure. There were a few people standing around it, all looking up at the sky, no doubt trying to get a glimpse of the top of the tower.

Hanna looked up at the enormous building, which she assumed had to be the lookout tower. She wondered how she hadn't seen it during their walk up; the pinewood structure stood out amazingly against the backdrop of the mountains surrounding them. She tried to count the stairs leading up to the top of the building, but the sun shining through the top of the trees was blinding her.

Caleb nudged her, and pointed to the deck surrounding the top of the tower. She gasped when she noticed that there was actually people walking around on the deck. She then realised what the people around them, safely on the ground, had been looking at.

"Oh no, those people are crazy," She whispered as she wondered who would be foolish enough to climb up that high from the ground.

"This is the lookout Hanna, it's one of the last seven remaining. The views are amazing from the top," Caleb started enthusiastically, "We can see all the mountains surrounding the lake and even the house, it's really something, especially now that the sun is setting," He explained, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he took a step towards the lookout point, before glancing over his shoulder at Hanna and cocking his eyebrow.

"Wait, are you actually delusional enough to think that I'll come with you?" She asked, "Caleb, you know that I'm afraid of heights, I wasn't kidding when I told you that I won't be going any closer to the tower of terror."

He walked back until he was close enough to see her face, his gaze softening as he noticed how terrified she looked, her eyes wide and slightly wild. "Of course I haven't," He said gently, his voice quieter. He held his hand out for her to take, but she didn't move. "'ll keep you safe Hanna, I promise."

She looked at him hesitantly, her eyes dropping down to his outstretched hand, which was still waiting for hers. She bit her lip nervously as their gazes met again, and she tried hard not to get lost in his sincere brown eyes.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, not breaking their eye contact.

"Of course I do," She whispered, knowing that she was telling the truth. If there was one thing that she had always been certain about, it was that Caleb Rivers would always make her feel safe, no matter how scared she felt.

Her hand dropped into his of its own accord. She cursed herself for not being able to resist Caleb's sweet and caring nature, and mentally cursed the butterflies that were erupting in the pit it her stomach as he laced their fingers together, pulling her towards to lookout point.

 **XxxxxX**

Caleb began to regret his past decisions as they reached the last staircase before the top of the tower. With every step, Hanna trembled even more, and her movements began to slow. At first, he had enjoyed the way that her ass had kept swaying in front of his face as they climbed the many stairs, but he soon forgot about it as he realised how afraid she really was. The enormous gaps between the stairs and the way they creaked loudly underneath their feet made him question the stability of the thing, but he didn't dare say that to Hanna.

Just as they reached the flight deck, Hanna looked over her shoulder. "Could you go first?" She asked, her voice small and full of fear.

With difficulty, he slid past her. Before he stepped onto the deck, he brushed his hand over her arm and waited until she looked at him. "We can go back if you want to Hanna, you don't have to do this if you're too afraid."

She swallowed loudly and glanced over to the deck; some of the views were already visible through the bars of the gate surrounding it. "I want to try," She admitted in a trembling voice.

"Hanna, honestly, you've already pushed yourself way past your limit. I want you to enjoy this day, not remember it as the day that Caleb Rivers gave you a traumatic experience," He chuckled.

"Please don't talk about it like that," She muttered as she tried hard not to look down through the gaps between the stairs.

"Come here," He said, making the decision for her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her back down the stairs.

 **XxxxxX**

"Why didn't you tell me that this was here before? This has even better views than the stupid tower of terror," Hanna asked, slightly annoyed as Caleb chuckled at her. She looked around the large protruding rock that they were sitting on; it was completely hidden from view, and undetectable to anyone who didn't know that it was there. Hanna looked over at Lake Arrowhead, and wondered if the people boating on the lake could see them. She tried to make out the Dawson's lake house, but gave up after a few moments.

"Because you would have asked me to take you here first, and we would never have gone to the tower of terror," He chuckled as he nudged her.

"Fact," She said. "I'm glad I still got to see the views, it's really something," She agreed with his earlier comments as she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, watching the sun going down over the lake, until Caleb suddenly looked behind them. Hanna followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything aside from the thick shrubbery behind them, not even the path that Caleb had led them down in order to get to the rock.

Hanna was about to ask him what he was staring at, but he brought his finger up to his mouth, signaling that they should be quiet. His eyes grew wider as he heard the sound of snapping twigs, quickly followed by heavy footsteps and the static sound of a radio.

A very tall, slim man in a checkered shirt, with messy brown hair and a short bushy beard, appeared through the bushes and gave them a look over, before he grabbed the radio on his shoulder and spoke into it, all the while keeping his eyes on them. "John 'ere, what age did y'all say them kids were?"

A reply came through the radio, but neither Hanna nor Caleb could make out what the person was saying, though the man in front of them seemed reasonably satisfied.

"How old are ye son?" He asked Caleb in a deep voice.

"Seventeen, nearly eighteen," He answered, slightly annoyed by the man's presence.

"Are ye counselors from Alpine camp? Some of yer campers thought it would be funny to walk off to go 'n chase bears," The man asked.

"We're not," Hanna interjected, prompting the bearded man to look them over once again, his eyes falling on the backpack lying behind Caleb.

"Yer' not checked in on the campsite, haven' seen yer around," He commented.

"We're with my family at our lake house," Caleb explained, hoping that the weird man would stop staring at them.

"What lake house?" The man grumbled, his eyes wandering over both of them – neither looked anything like the kids from the families that owned the few lake houses around the area.

"It's the last one on Arrow Peak Wrote," Caleb informed him.

"The Dawson house?" The man asked in surprise, his eyes back on Caleb as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Never knew old man Dawson had an older son," He muttered, more to himself than to anyone else.

"He doesn't," Caleb said shortly, "I'm his stepson."

"Yer Claudia's son then?" The man grumbled again, "What are yer doin' all the way on the other side of the lake son?" He asked, before glancing at Hanna, "Where are you staying tonight?"

"What do you mean?" Hanna asked, curiously.

"Yer kids can't go back to the house now, the sun just set an' yer can't be walkin' these woods in the dark," The man shook his head, "Now the summer camp has started, the bears 'n all the other animals come to this side of the lake with the racket them kids are making'.

"Wait, what?" Hanna asked in shock. "What about Aubrey? I need to phone my mom!"

"No use for phones in these parts missy," He laughed. "You can stay in the lean-to further down this path, but you won't be goin' home tonight, not on my watch. It's safer to stay 'ere." He said with authority before Caleb nodded at him.

"What ye got in that backpack son?" He asked, pointing at the large backpack that Claudia had made them bring. Caleb had only opened it once to retrieve the water bottles that he had packed himself, earlier that day. He grabbed it to see what else it contained as the man came closer to have a peek as well.

"Eat that food now and get rid of all the rest so you won't attract bears," He said as he watched Caleb pull out some Graham crackers, more bottled water, a blanket, matches, a sleeping bag, some rope, a pocket knife, a small first aid kit, and an air horn.

"Looks like you're well prepared, but take this as well," He said gently before he retrieved an old battered camouflage sleeping bag from his own backpack, and handed it to Caleb. "I'll walk you to the lean-to, then radio the rangers' station to tell 'em to have someone drop by your family's house and let them know where you are, and that you won' be back until tomorrow mornin'."

"Don't you have a car?" Hanna asked in surprise.

"I do," He grinned, "It's a six-hour walk, if you care to join me."

"No," Hanna said in a deflated voice before she met Caleb's reassuring smile.

 **XxxxxX**

"This day is full of terrible surprises," Hanna breathed out sarcastically as they reached a rickety structure, which, apparently, was called a 'lean-to'. It resembled a small, half-built wooden shed, with one wall missing. To Hanna, it looked more like a stable than something fit for humans, but a six hour walk with John the bearded man seemed even less appealing.

"I can't believe this is where we're gonna have to sleep," She sighed quietly.

"I've stayed in much worse," Caleb said as he dumped his backpack into the lean-to and stood back in order to look at the shed-like structure with his arms crossed.

"I'm sorry Caleb, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful," She said as she came to stand beside him. He turned around to face her; she had an uncertain expression on her face.

"I'm so sorry about all of this Hanna, all I wanted was for you to have a good time today, not to traumatise you with the lookout tower and the wilderness," He said gently. "Will you be okay staying here tonight? I could see if I can find that John guy again, and ask if he can send someone from our family to come and pick us up?"

"I'll be fine Caleb, seriously," She assured him, "You know that I'm good at camping."

She realised what she had said when Caleb sucked in a breath and bit his lip, his eyes fixated on her. Neither could stop the vivid memories from eighteen months ago from filling their minds as they stared at each other; the darkness that surrounded them that night, the logs near the fire, the way that they had cuddled up close as the night had become colder. The way that they had opened up to each other. The way that their minds, bodies and hearts had melded together that night, creating a connection that neither of them had ever wanted to let go of. Not in their hearts, not in their minds.

Their bodies moved closer to one another's of their own accord, the physical space between them becoming smaller and smaller as they saw in each other's eyes what their hearts already knew.

Caleb brushed his thumb lightly over her cheek as soon as she was close enough to do so, his other hand cupping her face as he looked into her sparkling blue eyes. He followed her gaze it fell to his lips, before moving back up to look at him, nervously. He brushed his thumb over her lower lip before he pulled her close.

She sighed when his soft lips landed on hers; he kissed her gently, moving his lips against hers until she daringly parted them and his tongue began to explore the hot cavern of her mouth. She moaned as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer, his other hand landing on her lower back as hers disappeared into his long brown locks. She gently bit down on his lower lip and he moaned. He used his free hand to tilt her face slightly, kissing her passionately as his tongue swirled over hers. He felt her hands brush over the one of his that was still cupping her face, before she pushed it away and pulled back, breaking their kiss. Their bodies remained pressed against one another's.

He took a moment before opening his eyes, and his heart sank when he met her uncertain gaze – he could tell that she was close to tears, her lips were trembling as she willed herself to speak. Caleb's heart began to beat faster as he waited for her to say something, anything.

"Caleb, I don't… what are we doing?"

Caleb couldn't help himself when he let out a breath of relief, before cupping her flushed cheeks in his hands and brushing his thumbs over her temples, tilting her head so that he could look at her. "You kiss me like that, and then ask me what we're doing?" He grinned, but Hanna still looked hesitant.

"I'm not talking about the kiss Caleb," She shook her head, "I'm talking about-"

"I know what you're talking about," He interrupted her.

"You don't."

"I do, Han, you want to know what's going to happen next, you want to know what this will make us, because we can't be anything with me here and you in Rosewood, and that scares you," He said, his voice breaking. He swallowed as he thought about the day that he would have to say goodbye. "Thinking about the day that you and Aubrey have to leave me is making me feel like I want to rip my heart out," He said in a trembling voice. "I've never had anyone in my life that I cared more about than you, Hanna Marin. And that scares me, too. But I know that if this very moment is all we will ever have together, then I'll take it. I would rather share one perfect kiss with the love of my life than have a lifetime of wondering 'what if?'."

Hanna didn't even try to fight the tears that were now falling from her eyes. All the doubt, all the worrying, immediately melted away as he poured his heart out to her, the sincerity of his words reflected in his eyes. She squeezed his hands, which had moved to her face with the intention of wiping her tears away, and held them in her own, lacing their fingers together as she looked at him.

"Caleb?"

"Yeah?" He asked as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

She took a deep breath in. "Could we have more than one perfect kiss?"

He didn't even have time to reply before she pulled him close and kissed him lovingly, desperately trying to relay all her feelings towards him in one perfect kiss.

 **XxxxX**

"Are you okay?" He asked her as they settled down in the lean-to later that evening. Caleb had graciously offered to take John's camouflage sleeping bag, which smelled a bit musty.

"I'm still a bit chilly," She admitted as she attempted to shuffle towards Caleb, still wrapped in her sleeping bag. She cuddled as close to him as possible, and leaned forward to kiss him. "Much better now," She smiled against his lips.

Caleb pecked her lips once more before turning onto his side so that he could look at her. He removed his arm from his sleeping bag in order to brush a strand of hair behind her ear – she shivered as he did so.

Hanna frowned when Caleb suddenly moved away from her, and watched as he pushed his sleeping bag down his legs, before stepping out of it and unzipping Hanna's. He then reached out and zipped their sleeping bags together before looking at Hanna, who smiled at him as she held their now joined sleeping bags open, so that he could climb in next to her. Hanna didn't waste any time before cuddling up against his warm body, resting her head on his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Better?" He asked again, before nuzzling his nose into her hair, and rubbing his hand over her back.

"I'm perfect now, are you?" She asked as his familiar smell, the feeling of his strong arm around her, and his steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

"Never been happier," He whispered sleepily, willing himself to stay awake so that he could enjoy the moment for as long as possible.

 **XxxxX**

 **Want to know what the Dawsons lakehouse looks like? A link can be found in my bio for the house that was my inspo.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading.**

 **Your reviews warm my heart.**

 **Preview? Let me know**

 **X Jane**


	12. Chapter 12

**Unexpected**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Mommy**

Caleb was the first to wake up. Before he opened his eyes, he reveled in the moment between consciousness and slumber, allowing his senses to enjoy their unfamiliar surroundings; the soft peaceful sounds of rustling trees, and shrill sound of the birds in the trees as the sun started to rise above them. He closed his eyes again as the chilly mountain breeze blew softly through his hair. He breathed in deeply in order to inhale the sweet smell of Hanna's shampoo, which took him straight back to a time and place where he had felt safe and at home for the first time in his life.

An involuntary chill ran through his body when Hanna shifted next to him. She cuddled into him and he kept his eyes closed, wanting to postpone the moment during which they would both have to wake up and face their pending separation the very next day.

He opened his eyelids ever so slightly, his eyes scanning over Hanna the moment that they were able to do so. Her head was resting on his upper body, a peaceful smile on her relaxed face. Her hand was splayed out over his chest, his heart beating steadily beneath it. Her face was partially hidden by her mane of blonde hair, but he didn't need to see it to know what she looked like. Every single feature of Hanna's porcelain, heart-shaped face was etched into his brain forever. He relaxed against the hard floor of the lean-to as much as he could, and enjoyed their closeness; the way that her chest was rising and falling ever so slightly, so gently that he could hardly feel it. The moment that they were sharing reminded him of the first night, and morning, that they had spent together.

It had been him who had woken up first that morning, disoriented at first, ready to fight any attackers who may have been trying to steal whatever belongings he had been trying to keep safe during the night. Mere seconds later, he had realised where he was, and more importantly, why he was there.

The smile that had appeared on his face upon realising such things had remained there, and had only grown wider when Hanna had woken up, and distracted him in every way possible. The memory of that morning still affected him beyond belief. Everything always felt rawer in the bright light of the morning, compared to in the soft glow of the evening moon. Yet the way that Hanna had looked at him that morning, her eyes full of adoration and something that he had never managed to place, told him that she was the girl for him, the girl that he would fight for, whatever the cost. He knew then, that he would never be able to forget Hanna, no matter how hard he tried.

Then Jenna happened. And Hanna found out.

He fought for Hanna, for them.

But then Mona happened, too, and he lost it all.

Due to the memories invading his brain, Caleb had become unaware of his actions. His grip had tightened on Hanna, and his nails were digging into her skin as he felt anger bubbling up inside of him. He was so focused on trying to contain his anger that he didn't have time to wipe the look of annoyance off of his face before Hanna had lifted up her head to look at him, wondering why his grip suddenly had tightened on her, and why his heart was beating so rapidly beneath her hand.

"Morning," He mumbled, less enthusiastically than he might have done had not his mind been occupied by thoughts of Mona and Jenna. He thought that he had covered his anger well by smiling at her brightly as he took in her sleepy face, but one look at her questioning gaze and he knew that she had seen the anger that he was feeling. She didn't break their gaze, and shuffled closer to him inside the sleeping bag. With difficulty, she managed to prop herself up on her elbow, leaning on his chest.

He felt relieved when she shot him a warm smile, and reached out to brush her hand through his hair. He knew that she was giving him a moment before she asked what she had been dying to ask as soon as he had woken her up.

Her warm hand came to rest upon his cheek and her eyes bored into his. "Caleb, what's wrong?" Her voice was so gentle, her expression so worried, that he knew he'd answer every question that she asked him truthfully.

"Nothing major," He tried to dismiss her question, but as soon as he looked back at her, he knew that there was no escaping the situation until he'd told her everything that had been bothering him.

"You're angry about something," She stated; he didn't even bother to ask her how she knew. "Is it... is it something I did?" She asked him, suddenly uncertain. Hanna knew that ever since she and Aubrey had stepped back into his life, a rollercoaster of emotions had been unleashed within all of them.

He gazed at her for a long moment, until the flicker of doubt in Hanna's eyes pulled him back to reality, away from his own thoughts. He leaned forward in order to capture her lips in between his, desperately wanting to share a sweet kiss with her. He was happy to see the trace of a content smile on her face when he laid back down against his makeshift pillow. He cupped her cheek in reassurance, "Of course it's nothing you did," He whispered, wishing that they were kissing again. He missed her soft lips on his already, and so leaned back in in order to kiss her once more, but Hanna interrupted before his mouth could meet hers.

"But it's got to do with me? The reason that you're angry?"

"The way you were sleeping on my chest just now reminded me of… of that… of our first morning." Despite everything, Caleb couldn't fight the bright smile that appeared on his face. "It took you ages to wake up, and your hair was fanned over your face just like it was that morning. I was so happy back then. I had never known happiness or love like that before. That's when I knew, that as long as I had you in my life, I'd always be happy, and I would always feel safe," He admitted. "I still remember lying there and thinking to myself; 'Caleb, you better not screw this up'," His voice broke a little, and his face contorted as he continued. He didn't dare look at Hanna; he knew what she was thinking, about how he had made her feel back then. He would never forget the day she found out about Jenna – she had thought that he had used her for his own gain, for money. "I'm so sorry Hanna, for everything," He whispered. He reached up to cup her cheek and looked at her for a long time, wishing that she would see the sincerity and truth in his eyes.

"I'm sorry too Caleb, especially for not listening to you when you tried to talk to me. I hate that that's how we broke up," She smiled sadly.

"Me too," He concurred, "I regret how things turned out. I can't stop feeling hurt at the thought of how I lost you, I can't stop feeling angry when I think about the people that made sure that we couldn't mend our relationship, even if we wanted to. I feel so frustrated by the way that things ended between us. I hate thinking about the time when I wasn't there to support you, when you found out that you were having Aubrey. I'll always regret missing out on her first year of life."

"Caleb…" Hanna started, but he stopped her.

"I'm not angry, Hanna. I think I need to get this off my chest, I haven't been able to talk to anyone about this," He admitted.

"I'm glad you're sharing it with me," She said as she rested her hand on top of his. She entwined their fingers together, before brushing her free hand through his long brown locks, her soft gaze meeting his. She couldn't help it when her eyes wandered down to his lips a few times; she didn't hesitate to join their lips together once more, nor did he hesitate to part his lips in order to whisper against hers.

"I'm glad you're here."

Not even a second after the words had left his mouth, his warm breath was tickling her dampened lips before they were joined again in a fierce kiss, their tongues seeking out and exploring each other's mouths hungrily. Caleb bunched her hair up in his hands, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Hanna moaned deeply as her hands roamed over his chest; she trailed them up to his neck until they were tangled in his long hair.

Tongues exploring and hands roaming, Caleb's hands slowly made their way down her warm body, until he settled them upon her thighs. Holding onto her tightly, he wrapped her legs around his hips so that he could roll them over within the restricted space that the sleeping bags provided. Their mouths never separated, their hearts beating as one as they rediscovered everything about one another. A warm glow filled Hanna as the intensity of his kisses, his caresses, made her feel like she was floating on the highest cloud in the sky. His familiar touch ignited a spark that she had believed would never return.

Her head void of any thoughts aside from Caleb and the way that he was making her feel, Hanna was suddenly brought back to reality when she felt his hands stroking over her torso, and underneath her shirt. Slowly, his hands made their way to the underside of her breasts, when suddenly the reality of her situation came crashing down upon her and she called out for him to stop. She pushed his hands from her body, and struggled to sit up without tumbling over.

It wasn't until she was met by his startled and concerned gaze that she understood how loud she must have been when she had told him to stop. Caleb pushed the sleeping bag down, and sat on his knees in front of her. "Hanna?" He asked, reaching out for her gently, "Hanna what's wrong, did I hurt you?"

His worries weren't alleviated when he noticed tears forming in her eyes, which she tried to pretend weren't there. She refused to meet his eyes, which were still boring into hers.

"Hanna, talk to me," He begged, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, "You're scaring me."

After what felt like years to Caleb, she looked at him with sad eyes, her voice wavering when she spoke, "Caleb...I, I need to go."

"What do you mean?" He asked her, moving even closer to her in case she tried to make a run for it… he wouldn't let her go. Not this time.

"I need to go back to the house," She mumbled.

"The lake house?" He asked in mild surprise, wondering how they went from kissing and more, to sitting across from each other, discussing going back to the lake house. "Now?" Hanna, you're not making any sense."

She looked at him for while, opening her mouth a few times as if she was going to say something – he waited for her to speak, to no avail. She shook her head slightly, as if she had made up her mind, and closed her mouth again.

He let go of her momentarily, and sat back down next to her. He pulled the sleeping bag up over their legs; at least she had let him cover them both with the sleeping bag, so her need to go back to the house wasn't too immediate, he thought to himself. "Were you going to tell me something?" He asked, hoping it would spur her on. "Don't you want this?" He asked in a much quieter voice. Caleb hoped to the high heavens that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.

"I do, Caleb," She admitted.

"Then why'd you stop me?" He asked softly, furrowing his brow.

"Because we can't do this right now," She said, wrapping her arms tighter around her chest, as if she wanted to shield her body from his view.

She glanced sideways at him, and noticed the way that his eyebrows were bunched together. His forehead wrinkled in the cutest way whenever he was worried. She slowly reached out, and began to trace the lines on his forehead; it was the one thing that she had always found weirdly attractive about him.

"Stop worrying so much, you've done nothing wrong," She said.

"Then why the tears?" He asked as he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

She looked back at the ground and groaned. Hanna was ready to bury her head in between her knees and never come back up for air again. She knew that she needed to tell Caleb. He watched her curiously as she ran her hands over her face. Hanna took a deep breath before she spoke, "Fine, I'll tell you, but you will never be able to look at me the same way ever again," She explained dramatically.

"You'll always be beautiful to me Hanna, no matter what you do," Caleb said sweetly, pressing a lingering kiss on her lips before brushing his thumb over them.

"I need to go back because," She groaned inwardly, knowing that she would have to tell him, despite how embarrassed she would be to do so, "Because these..." She signalled towards her chest, "I need to uhm." She exhaled loudly again, wishing that she was anywhere but where she was at that moment. She looked sideways at Caleb, who was sporting a confused and expectant look, which made her laugh slightly. He really had no clue, and despite the current situation, she couldn't help but be amused by him. "I need to go back because if I don't and we continue what we were doing… I... I might, leak on you."

Caleb burst out laughing, "Leak on me?!"

Hanna couldn't help but laugh as well; at least he wasn't horrified. "Ok, maybe leaking wasn't the right word, but thank you for laughing at me. You won't be laughing when it happens."

"I'm laughing because you were getting so worked up about telling me. I might not know much about pregnancy and all of that, but you have nothing to be worried about. Don't you know by now that you'll always be beautiful in my eyes?" He assured her, "And it's not like I haven't noticed how massive your boobs are, why do you think I wanted to touch them?" He joked, staring at her chest until she slapped him on his arm.

"Perv."

"Hey! I'm a seventeen-year-old guy, what do expect of me?" Caleb laughed, "It's been quite a while for me as well," He said, mindlessly.

Silence fell between them as Hanna breathed a sigh of relief in response to his reaction; it took a while for his last words to sink in. "Wait? You and Kira never?" She stopped herself as soon as she realised that she didn't actually want to hear the answer.

But before she could stop him, he was already shaking his head.

"Nah," He admitted, "I didn't know her that long. And then you showed up with Aubrey…" He trailed off. "There wasn't anything as important to me as getting to know Aubrey, and spending as much time as I possibly could with you and her," He continued with a genuine smile. "I think, deep down, she knew, and that's why we broke up. It didn't stop her from trying to compete with Aubrey, though," He sighed.

"What did she do?" Hanna asked, suddenly curious.

"She asked me to spend the day with her and cancel that day that I'd planned with you and Aubrey on the beach. The one where she came to see us," Caleb muttered.

"The one where you broke up? Hanna asked; Caleb nodded briefly.

"She asked if I was still in love with you," Caleb admitted, staring straight ahead for a moment until he felt brave enough to face Hanna. He was surprised to find her smiling to herself; her eyes found his, and he momentarily lost himself in her ocean blue orbs.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her the truth, she deserved as much," Caleb replied, not giving Hanna the answer that she wanted to hear. She was about to press him on what he told Kira, when he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. "Hanna, the moment I saw you in my garden, I knew I was still in love you. During our time apart, I simply forced myself to stop dwelling on my feelings for you and move on, but every time I look at you, I'm reminded of how those feelings will always be there. I'm convinced that the largest part of my heart will always belong to you."

His words had barely left his mouth when Hanna crashed her lips onto his. She kissed him with all that she was, and all that she had to give. She might not have been able to top his speech, but at the very least, she could show him how much those words had meant to her. "I know I can't say it more perfectly than that," She breathed against his lips when they pulled apart," But I hope you know I feel the same way."

"I do now," He smiled softly.

Hanna furrowed her brow, "You didn't before?"

"I wasn't too sure," He shrugged, "You seemed very composed around me and you got mad at me quite a few times, remember?"

"You don't get mad like that over people you don't care about," She smirked.

"I don't know," He murmured, "I assumed you were over me."

"How could anyone ever be over you?" Hanna asked as she caressed his jaw with her hand. "I know for certain that I never was," She whispered, holding his gaze. She let her eyes flutter shut, and closed the distance between them in order to kiss him once more.

 **XxxxX**

"I wonder what's keeping them?" Ashley mused as she helped Claudia clean the table up after breakfast, "I expected them to be back by now. Hanna doesn't usually cope very well with being separated from Aubrey."

"Maybe they were occupied," Claudia said with a grin very similar to the one that she had seen on Caleb's face too many times.

"They better not have been…" Ashley said darkly, observing Claudia's face.

"You don't think they…?"

The mothers shared a look as the yells and noises coming from James and Clay, mixed with Aubrey's high pitched screeches, filtered through the open windows and patio doors as the children played by the water's edge.

"I'm just saying, they would have been back by now if they'd been fighting, or if they weren't getting along," Claudia explained as she wiped down the table and joined Ashley in the kitchen.

"Do you think something might have happened?" Ashley whispered, looking around to make sure that the teens weren't back yet; she didn't want them to overhear any more of their gossiping.

I don't know, all I know is that we- _I_ made things awkward enough when they overheard me telling you how Hanna feels about Caleb.

"Caleb must have been happy about that," Claudia smirked, before Ashley raised her eyebrows at her. "He's still in love with Hanna," Claudia continued, "There's always been something… something that he kept from me when he first started living with us," She shrugged. "Caleb and I had countless talks, therapy sessions. I've told him about things that I'm so ashamed off, things I'll regret until the day I'll die, but I did it because I thought that opening up to him, might make him see that it's okay to talk to me, that I'm never going to judge him," She sighed, pushing a strand of hair away from her face, "But I felt like he never told me everything that there was to know about him… he refused to talk about Rosewood. It wasn't until I saw Hanna and Caleb together, and the way he looks at her, that I knew. It reminds me of the way his father used to look at me."

 **XxxxxX**

The walk back to the lake house seemed much shorter than the walk to the watch tower had a few days previously; maybe it was the way that the sun was shining low over the top of the trees, or the brisk wind blowing through the treetops. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way that Hanna and Caleb kept their bodies pressed closed together as they walked, their hands entwined, neither one of them willing to let go.

Caleb stopped walking as soon as they reached the hill, which the lake house lay behind. He glanced down at their joined hands, before pulled his from Hanna's. His sigh mirrored hers as they separated for the first time since they had left their makeshift campsite.

"Are we agreed on not telling our families yet?" Caleb asked timidly.

"We won't be able to go anywhere by ourselves if we do," Hanna rolled her eyes, "I know my mom will keep a watchful eye on us at all times. It's only one more day, Caleb."

"I know," He murmured, "But that also means I won't be able to do this," He finished, moving in closer in order to share one last kiss with Hanna before they had to go back.

As soon as Hanna and Caleb climbed over the small hill that separated the national park from the house, they were spotted by James and Clay, who screamed in excitement. Caleb happily went to greet his brothers, but Hanna hurried inside the house after a quick hello in order to find her daughter. Now she was so close to her, she wanted to hug her and never let go again.

Both Claudia and Ashley were relieved to see Hanna almost sprinting into the house and calling for Aubrey, who was playing in the kitchen near her grandmother's feet. Hanna picked her up off of the floor, and hugged her so tight that Aubrey started to fight against the hug in order to free herself from her mother's tight grasp. After peppering Aubrey's face with kisses, Hanna excused herself for a few minutes to nurse her.

By the time that Caleb had managed to get away from his brothers, Hanna was walking back into the kitchen with Aubrey. His heart flipped when he saw his daughter again, who greeted him with her widest, gummiest smile yet. He scooped her from Hanna's arms and blew a loud raspberry against her neck, which left her screeching loudly and kicking her little legs in joy.

"Glad you two made it home safe," Ashley chuckled, watching the tiny family. She didn't miss the way that Hanna and Caleb shared a look between them, nor the way that Hanna was chewing the inside of her cheeks in order to keep herself from grinning.

"I'm glad to see you two made it out alive! Thank God for John coming by the house to tell us that you two were camping out for the night, or I would have sent out a search party for you," Claudia scolded Caleb, who was now holding Aubrey.

"You mean the bearded guy?" Caleb asked in surprise as he propped Aubrey up on his side, "How do you know him?" He questioned, looking down at Aubrey, who seemed to have grown in his absence. He couldn't help himself when he kissed her forehead, and missed his mother's response completely.

"...And it's not about how I know him, it's about you being irresponsible. You put not only yourself, but Hanna in danger as well, Caleb. I told you more than once to take two backpacks with you, and to charge your phone before you left the house. And do I need to remind you about all of the times I told you not to leave so late in the day? It's dangerous!" Claudia shook her head at him.

"It's not like I had any practice taking care of myself," He rolled his eyes, "Anyway, why have you suddenly started caring now?" He sneered, handing Aubrey back to Hanna as he felt a surge of anger building up inside of him at hearing his mother's words. "You don't even care about your children, you just give birth to them and then let other people take care of them!" He yelled, before he stomped loudly up the winding stairs.

All three women, and Aubrey, watched him leave; moments later they could hear the door slamming upstairs. Hanna looked at Claudia and noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. Then, she glanced uncertainly at her mother, who nodded towards the stairs.

"I'll go and see how he is," Hanna muttered, following Caleb upstairs.

"Leave the door open!" Her mother called after her, before Hanna shot her a look of annoyance over her shoulder.

Ashley turned to look at Claudia the moment that Hanna disappeared from sight, and noticed that she had wiped the tears away; she was now sporting a brave face after Caleb's hurtful words. Ashley was also surprised to see a hint of a smile etched across her features.

"Something's different between them, I can tell," Claudia whispered; Ashley hastily agreed.

"I know, I could tell by the way they were standing next to each other, and by how much Hanna wanted to go and check on Caleb," She nodded.

"So what do we do now?" Claudia shrugged.

"Nothing, we can't force them to talk," Ashley sighed, wondering whether the bedroom door had remained open like she'd asked.

Hanna stood outside Caleb's bedroom door, which was ajar, deciding whether or not she should enter the room with Aubrey in her arms. But then she remembered that Caleb could never remain angry when Aubrey was close by, and so she reached out in order to push the door open.

"Oh my God!" She yelled as she opened the door, before hastily shutting it again. But it was too late; the vision of Caleb bending over, and his bare ass, had been etched into her brain. She laughed a little, and took a moment to compose herself before knocking on his door again.

But before she could do so, the door was yanked open, and a grinning Caleb stood in front of her, this time dressed in swimming trunks. "You didn't like what you saw?" He joked.

"I did," She muttered as she tore her eyes away from below his navel in order to look at his face. She eventually stepped into the room after she had made sure to take another good look at the way that his six pack seemed to turn into a V shape, which disappeared underneath the material of his trunks. She followed him mindlessly into the room, trying to focus on the way that he had just stormed off.

"You never removed your tattoo like you said you would," She chuckled, still thinking about what was hidden under his swimming trunks.

"I never said I would, I only suggested that I could remove it," He smiled as he turned around to face her. "Do you want me to?" He added, cocking his head to one side.

She looked at him in surprise. "Why would I want you to remove a tattoo that says, _spank me?"_

"Now why do I get the impression that you're being sarcastic?" He chuckled.

"I'm not," She smiled. Then, she placed Aubrey on the floor in between their legs; the small girl started exploring Caleb's room as soon as she could. Hanna stepped closer to Caleb and ran a hand over his arm, before she settled them around his neck and kissed him. It was supposed to be a short kiss, but Caleb used the opportunity to pull her closer in order to bite her lip and trace his tongue over hers, until she granted him access so that he could deepen the kiss.

"We should go," Caleb whispered against her lips when they finally separated for air.

"We should," She concurred, although neither made any effort to move away from one another, Hanna's fingers threading mindlessly through his hair as she momentarily lost herself in his deep, dark eyes.

Caleb leaned forwards to capture her lips between his before he pulled away one final time.

He knew that if they didn't stop right then and there, then they never would.

 **XxxX**

It had been hard to pretend that nothing had changed between them in front of their families.

It had only been an hour, and Hanna was already wondering why on earth she and Caleb had agreed not to tell any of their family what had happened the previous night at the campsite, nor how much they wanted to be together despite their circumstances. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, reliving every single time that Caleb had kissed her, and how much she had missed his soft lips on hers, and the way he could make her forget everything around her when he did…

Her eyes opened again ever so slowly, the trace of a content smile on her lips; it never really left her face as she leaned back on her arms, her feet dangling in the water as she sat on the edge of the dock. She scanned the lake in front of her with her eyes, and found the very person that she couldn't stop thinking about, her smile remaining on her face as she reveled in the view in front of her.

Aubrey was wrapped in Caleb's arms, her bright yellow bathing suit standing out against her tanned skin, her blonde hair an odd contrast to Caleb's dark hair. Hanna kept watching them as Caleb held Aubrey in the water and let her glide through it at top speed, making the water around her tiny body erupt in waves. Hanna was about to stand up and yell at Caleb; she wanted to tell him to calm down, she was sure that Aubrey was about to burst into tears. A mere second later, Aubrey's shrill screams of joy could be heard all around the lake and Hanna relaxed again, but kept a watchful eye on them in case Caleb had any more crazy antics up his sleeve.

"It's what fathers do," Came Claudia's soft voice from behind her.

Hanna looked sideways as Claudia sat down next to her on the dock. "What do fathers do?" She asked as her eyes fell back onto Caleb and Aubrey. She watched them absentmindedly as Caleb showed their daughter how to blow bubbles in the water, which only made her panic more. Hanna was certain that Aubrey would choke on the lake water on her first attempt.

"Fathers push their kids to cross boundaries," Claudia chuckled as Aubrey lunged forward into the water head first in an attempt to copy Caleb, her face disappearing under the surface. Caleb yanked her out of the water, and Aubrey came back up looking only a little bit shell shocked. Hanna, however, was sure that she had just experienced her first ever heart attack. She shot Caleb an annoyed glance as he tried to calm Aubrey, patting her on the back a few times before throwing her up the in the air, thereby making her forget all about her unfortunate head dive. Hanna watched them, her eyes falling on his defined abs, which looked even better thanks to the way that he was moving in order to throw Aubrey up into the air.

Hanna finally relaxed again. "Is that what they always do?" She asked Claudia, "Push their kids to test their boundaries? Because I could really do without the mini heart attacks every other minute, she's enough of an adventurer already. I don't need Caleb to teach her any more ways to drive me completely insane."

"She'll find other ways to drive you up the wall, I'm sure," Claudia chuckled, "I've noticed that she's a lot like Caleb when it comes to her personality."

"You have? What is it about her that makes her similar to Caleb?" Hanna asked eagerly, wanting to know more about what other people thought of Aubrey's personality traits.

"She trusts and loves people blindly, she isn't shy or scared of anyone she meets, she's very open," Claudia said, sporting a bright smile as she quickly glanced behind her in order to watch James and Clay running at top speed into the lake. They were laughing and yelling as they made their way towards Caleb and Aubrey, who was watching her uncles in awe, clapping her little hands in excitement. "Caleb used to be like that," Claudia sighed, "He was always such a happy child," She added as she looked at Hanna, who was staring at him. "Being in foster care changed him so much," Claudia continued, "What was he like, when you met him?"

"When I met him?" Hanna raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Hanna chuckled as she remembered how much she had despised Caleb the moment that she had first laid her eyes on him; he had been leaning against the wall of the school, looking scruffy, untouchable, and mysterious. Something about him had made her want to run from him, yet she was pulled into him by some invisible force. Then, he had made fun of Justin Bieber, and called her princes in that damn mocking tone that he used to use. She was about to lash out at him when he had shot her a sexy smirk, his dark eyes boring into hers. It had turned her insides into jelly, and made her heart thump in her chest. Nothing in her life had ever unhinged her more than meeting Caleb, and she knew back then that she would be seeing more of the boy that had dared to call her princess.

"I assume that he made quite the impression on you, huh?" Claudia asked; Hanna realised that Claudia had been watching her go down her silent memory road. She hated seeing the all too familiar smirk on Claudia's face, it was as if she knew what Hanna had been thinking about.

A nervous chuckle escaped Hanna's lips as she struggled to find her voice.

"Don't worry about it Hanna, Caleb gets that same look on his face whenever I ask him anything about you," Claudia smiled.

"What has he told you about me?" Hanna was too curious not to ask; she had always wondered what he might have told his mother, especially as he seemed so guarded around her.

"Not much, things that matter to Caleb, he keeps close to his heart. That's why I knew how much he cared about you, because he never wanted to talk about Rosewood or anyone connected to it. But I remember, during one recent therapy session, he got extremely mad at me and yelled, before he told me that he'd only ever loved one person in his life, and it wasn't me," Claudia shrugged.

Hanna stared at Claudia, Caleb's harsh yet beautiful words sinking in. "I'm so sorry he said that," She apologised on his behalf.

"I deserved it, I've done some terrible things in the past. I'm not expecting Caleb to forgive me anytime soon," She smiled sadly, "It helps me to see him with you and Aubrey. I can tell that he trusts you, and that he feels safe around you," She added, her expression softening. "He loves you, you know, I can tell from the way he looks at you."

Hanna didn't know what to say; if the way he kissed her was any indication of how much he loved her, she knew that he loved her a lot. Claudia watched Hanna carefully as the slow, shy grin grew on the teenager's face, her eyes scanning the water before landing on the boy that they had been talking about. Within seconds, dimples were appearing in her cheeks as her smile grew uncontrollably larger. She watched Caleb walk with Aubrey to the edge of the lake, towards the patio near the house – James and Clay were running ahead of them, probably in search of some food.

Claudia no longer had to question the love between the teenagers; she knew by the way that Hanna was staring at her son, trying hard to fight her smile, and unconsciously brushing her finger over her lower lip.

The magical silence was broken as soon as Hanna caught Claudia staring at her; Claudia quickly composed herself, and followed Hanna's gaze. Caleb had joined William and Ashley at the picnic table, still holding his daughter in his arms. She knew, deep down, that he was dreading the day that he would have to let go of his daughter.

As if Hanna had read Claudia's thoughts, she began to speak. "I'm really glad that we're here Claudia," She said, nodding towards the family gathering around the picnic table. 'I'm glad you met my mother at the beach that day. When I see Aubrey and Caleb together, it feels like he's always been a part of her life, they look like they have always been together. I just can't stop wondering what could have been… if... you know… if they had been together from day one," She spoke, keeping her eyes fixated on the both of them. "He's so natural with her, it amazes me."

"He is," Claudia concurred, "I do think it's got to do with his past, growing up in foster care and all that."

A silence grew between the two women as they lost themselves in thought.

"Why did you never go looking for him?" Hanna blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I did," Claudia sighed, rubbing her forehead, "As soon as I found out that he was no longer living with his aunt, and that he was in foster care instead, I went looking for him. It took me ages to find out where he was, but I finally found the family he was staying with. I did the creepy stalker thing and followed them to a park one day, because I wasn't supposed to know where he was. I watched as Caleb went to play and the mom sat down," She shuffled her feet a little before continuing, "I was about to sit down close to them in order to watch him play in the playground. All I wanted in that very moment was to see if he was happy, and how much he had grown. But then I heard him call his foster mom, 'mommy'. I just sat there, stunned, looking at my sweet little boy calling someone else mommy. I knew I had no right to feel anything, because it had been two years since I'd left him, but I have to admit that it broke my heart, and broke my spirit, and instead of fighting for my son and fighting for the right to be his mother again, I turned to drugs."

Claudia's face contorted as she talked about her past, and a lonely tear escaped her eye. "I turned back to drugs, which were the only things that I knew would make me happy. I turned to the one thing that caused me to lose my babies in the first place." She swallowed, hard, "I'll never forget the day I had to leave Caleb, there isn't a day I don't wish I could live that day all over again," She said, spurred on by some invisible power as Hanna sat there quietly, allowing Claudia to pour her heart out. Hanna silently wondered whether Claudia had ever been able to talk about her biggest regret to anybody else before.

"I told Caleb I was just going to do some shopping when I left him with his aunt. But the truth was, I had to go to rehab because I was pregnant."

 **XxxxX**

Hanna stared at Claudia; her mouth was open, and her eyes threatened to fall out of her head.

"Pregnant?" Hanna whispered, "You had another baby?!" She asked, a little aghast. "Does Caleb know?!"

"Yes, he does. That's why he flew off the handle earlier today," Claudia explained, "I only told him recently. I haven't been able to tell him the whole story yet, and honestly, he won't let me.

"What did he say when you told him?" Hanna asked, curious.

"He told me that his brother is probably better off without me in his life," She shrugged.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Hanna tried to console Claudia, who looked close to tears. The older woman nodded thankfully as she sniffled.

"Can I ask…" Hanna started, before pausing; she was unsure of what she wanted to ask, or if she should even be asking anything.

"His brother's name is Jacob," Claudia started; for the first time in her life, she felt like she could finally talk about her biggest regret, her biggest secret. "When I left Caleb with his aunt that day, I tried to get clean because I was pregnant. I didn't want to harm my baby at all, and I wanted to be able to take care of Caleb by myself. I'm not saying that I didn't struggle, because I did. I did everything I could to prove to child services that I was capable of taking care of my children, but then his brother was born and everything came back to me, it made me remember the day that Caleb was born," She sighed, "It brought back all of my buried emotions, and made me realise how much I missed Caleb. How much I had missed of his life because I was being stupid. It led to a major depression, and I found comfort in the only thing that I knew would make me feel better. I'm sure you can guess the rest, but in the middle of my darkness and sorrow, I knew that I couldn't take care of another baby. I could hardly muster the strength to fight to get Caleb back, so I chose to put his brother up for adoption."

She took a deep breath before continuing, "I didn't want to try and raise another child, only to have to leave them with other people. I didn't want to face the pain of driving away from them. I knew that, at the very least, my baby would grow up with good, nice people. He would have a normal life. In my depressed mind, I felt that I was only good for putting my kids up for adoption, to make other families that were yearning for a child happy."

"So what happened after he was adopted?" Hanna swallowed.

"Jacob was with me for three weeks before he was adopted. It was a closed adoption, so I don't know anything about his adoptive parents, nor where they lived," Claudia shrugged, "All I have is my memory and one photo. I don't even know if his parents kept the name I gave him. All I knew back then was that I never wanted to be able to hear my own child calling someone else 'mommy' ever again, which is why I chose a closed adoption."

Another long silence fell between them. Hanna couldn't believe the life that Claudia had lived before the one that she was living right now. At first glance, she seemed perfectly happy and content, like she was living the life of her dreams. But all that Hanna could see now was sadness and regret in the brown orbs staring straight back at her.

She looked away, over Claudia's shoulder for a few seconds, and caught a glimpse of Aubrey on Caleb's lap at the picnic table; she was playing with his long hair, which was still dripping wet from their swim in the lake. Hanna's sudden warm smile made Claudia turn around in order to see what she was looking at. She caught sight of them just as Caleb was planting a kiss on Aubrey's forehead, before tucking some of her blonde strands of hair behind her ear. Even from far away, Caleb must have felt their eyes on him, as he looked over at the two women. He winked at Hanna, and made Aubrey wave at them; they both waved back enthusiastically in response.

"Do you ever think ab…" Hanna was about to ask, wondering how hard it must have been for Claudia to give up her child.

"There isn't a single day that I don't. I've already signed myself up to be found when Jacob turns eighteen, but that won't be for another six years. He might never find out that he's adopted, or maybe he'll never want to find me," She added, sadly.

"I'm sure that he will Claudia, every kid wants to know where they came from, and to find out if they're anything like their family. I hardly ever see my dad, and I haven't spoken to him in ages. He's never even taken the time to meet his granddaughter, but if he reached out now, I'd still let him see her despite everything," Hanna shrugged.

Claudia smiled warmly at Hanna. "I really hope that you're right, Hanna. I wasn't the best mom to my kids in the past, and I know Caleb will never forgive me for everything that's happened. I don't blame him."

"I'm sure he will eventually. I know he loves you," Hanna smiled at her, repeating the words that Claudia had spoken to her just moments before. "Speaking of," She added, nodding at something behind Claudia.

Claudia turned around to see Caleb walking towards them, bending over slightly in order to hold Aubrey's tiny hands in his as he tried to make her walk towards her mom and grandmother. Hanna and Claudia smiled at Aubrey, who looked incredibly pleased with herself as she made her way towards them, flashing them her two teeth and showing her dimples as she smiled brightly.

"Hey," Caleb said in a deep voice as soon as he was close enough to be heard by both women, trying hard not to lean down to kiss Hanna as soon as he was close enough to do so.

"Hey!" Both of them replied; Claudia didn't miss how Caleb only had eyes for Hanna, or how he fixated his gaze on her as he spoke.

"James and Clay want to go jet skiing, want to join us?" He asked Hanna as he straightened up and let go of Aubrey's hands. He looked at her questioningly, waiting for a response, before she gasped out loud, flapping her arms wildly, her eyes wide as she looked from Aubrey to Caleb and back.

"Oh my! Oh my god look at Aubrey!" She screamed, "She's standing all by herself!"

"I know," Caleb shrugged, "She did that a minute ago at the picnic table. I thought she could do it already."

"What? When?!" Hanna asked in shock, surprised by the fact that her little baby was suddenly managing to stand all by herself, but insanely proud of her at the same time.

"When we came out of the water," Caleb smiled, "She was moving around in the grass, and stood up with some support from the picnic table, and then she let go."

"Ahh, such a big girl already," Claudia gushed, holding out her arms for Aubrey to see whether she would walk towards her. Aubrey tried with all her might to move her chubby little legs and walk to her grandma; after a few feeble wobbles on her legs, which never left the ground, she fell back down onto her backside. Caleb helped her back up, and as soon as she seemed steady enough, he let go of her hands again. Aubrey was thrilled, and began to clap her little hands together when it took her mom and grandmother too long to give her appropriate praise, before they soon followed suit and applauded her enthusiastically.

"Mommy is so proud of you baby," Hanna gushed as she scooped Aubrey up and kissed her all over her face, before standing up on the dock and leading the way back to where her mother was.

She looked back to share one last look with Claudia, who remained where they had been talking.

 **XxxxxX**

"I thought you said that your brothers wanted to go jet skiing?" Hanna asked as she joined Caleb in the garage, where he was grabbing some lifejackets.

"Guess they decided to go on the boat with Willam," He shrugged, "Why? Would you rather share a jet ski with James than me?" He asked, turning to look at her as he handed her a lifejacket.

"Of course not," Hanna whispered in his ear as she closed the distance between them; her lips brushed over the shell of his ear, goosebumps erupting over Caleb's body as she did so.

"You be careful now, we don't know who's watching us," He joked, craning his neck to see whether either of their moms were watching them through the open garage door.

"Both of them probably are and you know it, we're under a microscope for the rest of our stay," She replied timidly as she struggled to put her lifejacket on. "My mom knows everything, and I didn't even have to open my mouth to tell her. It's impossible to keep anything from my mom."

"Or my mom it seems," Caleb added, "What were you guys talking about?" He asked as he helped her tighten the straps over her chest. He grinned widely as he glanced down at her breasts, which were tightly pressed together in the lifejacket, and she thumped him on the chest.

"Just girl stuff," Hanna replied softly, instantly regretting having lied to Caleb. He must have noticed something in her demeanor, or the tone of her voice, because he stopped gawking down her vest and looked at her intently. She felt somewhat relieved when he snorted.

"Liar liar, your tiny bikini pants are on fire," He chuckled, playfully slapping her behind. "But I'm not complaining about them, so you can keep your secrets. I'm not sure I even want to know the things that you and my mom discuss," He winked confidently as he walked to the water's edge with Hanna following close behind.

 **XxxxxX**

It had taken Caleb a long time to get them far enough down the lake that they were out of their mothers' views; they had watched them drive down the lake until they could no longer see them. He hadn't enjoyed Ashley's not so subtle questions as to why Hanna wasn't going to use her own jet ski, or his mother's comment about 'being safe', which clearly hadn't been directed at the lifejacket that she had nodded at.

But none of that could dampen his spirit as he felt Hanna move in closer against his back, as close as she could go with the lifejackets between them. Her arms carefully wrapped around his waist and held on tighter and tighter with every passing second as he sped up the jet ski, fighting against the wild water, which became rougher the further they moved towards the middle of the lake.

The cold splashes of water, and the way that the waves were beating against the underside of the jet ski, had Hanna screaming in his ears as she held on even tighter.

Despite Hanna's continuing screams, Caleb still enjoyed their closeness, and the way that she was digging her nails into the skin of his torso, which was peeking out from underneath his lifejacket. He enjoyed the way that he could smell her flowery, vanilla scent every time the wind breezed over the lake and through her hair. He closed his eyes for just a second when she relaxed against him, and laid her head against the back of his neck. He leaned back a tiny bit and felt her hands slip underneath his life vest, roaming the naked skin of his chest as her mouth found the sensitive skin of his neck. He moaned slightly as he used the last of his willpower to steer them into a secluded, tiny bay at the foot of a cliff, which he had discovered the year before.

He stilled the jet ski when Hanna stood up a little, using his shoulders to steady herself. She kissed her way along the side of his neck, his shoulder, and up to his cheek, where she pressed a quick peck against his skin. She was about to sit back down behind him, but he wrapped his hands around her wrist, stopping her from moving away from him.

"Come back," He murmured, pulling on her wrist ever so slightly. She understood what he wanted as pulled her forward, and guided her to the front of the jet ski so that she could sit in front of him. He scooted back on the seat as he helped her climb over him. He sucked in a breath as her rounded ass moved in front of his face. Her ass cheeks hardly hidden by her tiny bikini bottoms.

The show was over way too soon for his liking as she sat down with her back to him. But he smiled when she shuffled back, and snuggled up between his legs. He moved himself so close to her that he could feel the heat radiating from her body. His chest pressed against her back, and she shuddered as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his fingers ghosting over the tops of her legs. She could feel his shallow breathing against her skin, and struggled to think of what she wanted to say.

"Where are we going?" She finally murmured.

"Nowhere, we're already here," He whispered against the sensitive skin of her neck, "Or would you rather go somewhere else?"

Hanna took her time in order to look around the space that Caleb had steered the jet ski to, and wondered how he had managed to find such a secluded space on the lake. Aside from the way that they had come from, which was partly hidden by a large, overhanging tree, they were surrounded by a high, steep cliff, and a small beach like clearing to the side of it, which was barely big enough for two people. She smiled to herself, glad that Caleb had been daring enough to take her away to somewhere so secluded, the only place that they could be alone during their last day together. She bit her lip; now it was her time to be bold, or at least as bold as she dared to be.

But Caleb beat her to it.

She gasped loudly as his soft lips landed on her neck, his open mouth setting fire to her skin as he trailed a path up to the spot underneath her ear. He flicked his tongue over the thin skin, and brushed her hair away from her neck, his other hand searching for the clasp on her lifejacket. In one swift motion, Hanna felt the release of the clasp, and his soft hands pushed it off of her shoulders before he discarded it somewhere behind him. As he scooted back on the jet ski in order to get rid of it, Hanna had an opportunity to move around so that when he came back to her, his eyes full of anticipation, his orbs met her blue ones.

"Hey," He murmured.

"Hi," She replied, before wrapping her hands around his neck, and successfully pulling him closer to her. She wet her lips in anticipation, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

His soft smile was the only response that she received before his lips brushed tentatively over hers. The slight tilt of her head was enough for him to know that this was what she wanted, and the tip of his tongue slowly traced over the lines of her lips, begging for more.

Hanna complied and granted him access, meeting him halfway as they rediscovered everything that they had missed about one another. Hanna didn't waste any time before getting rid of Caleb's lifejacket, and smiled through their kisses as it got stuck on his arms, which had expanded considerably in the past eighteen months. As soon as the vest was gone, his hands got lost in her long, silky hair, and she slung her legs over his, sliding closer so that their rib cages were touching. He hissed at the new contact, and bunched her hair up in his hands as he deepened their kiss. The way that her chest was heaving at the intensity of their kiss, her breasts only covered by her bikini, was tormenting him, tantalizing his skin, and making all of the blood left in his brain rush downwards. He groaned in frustration at the remaining fabric separating them; then, he reached up, and brushed his fingers over her torso. He felt her muscles contract as he gently ran his fingertips over the soft skin there; she kept kissing him with the same vigour and passion, silently begging him not to stop.

Slowly, he reached higher and higher, looking out for any signs of Hanna wanting him to stop. He reached the underside of the fabric of her bikini, halting there as he pulled away from her. "Hanna?" He breathed, her name acting as the question that he wanted to ask. He searched her face as she looked up at him, coyly, nodding ever so slightly before she wrapped her arms around his neck and joined their lips together once again. His fingers found their way underneath the thin material, his fingers exploring the soft, supple flesh of her breasts. He pulled away from her mouth, a deep groan escaping his lips as he watched her face contort in pleasure as his thumb brushed over her nipple. He pulled away from her to look at her, and licked his lips as he glanced at her erect nipples pressing against her bikini.

With even more passion and vigour, he continued their kiss. He found the clasp of her bikini top and undid it, before pulling it down her arms and dropping it carelessly behind him on the seat of the jet ski. He turned back to Hanna, and took a moment to look at the half-naked beauty in front of him. He marveled at the way in which the afternoon sun made her glow, every curve of her body, the silky hair falling in waves around her face and shoulders, and her perky breasts that were made to fit in his hands.

He caught her watching him, shyly. Caleb cupped her face in his hands, and pecked her lips. "You are so perfect," He told her, smiling. He let his hands wander down her neck, and then her shoulders. Slowly, he traced them down to her collarbone. He watched the goosebumps appear on her skin as he teased her, and licked his lips as he moved them even lower to cup her breasts in his hands. The sharp intake of breath from Hanna as he flicked his fingers over her erect nipples made him groan alongside her. Their lips met yet again, and Hanna dug her nails into his shoulders as Caleb started placing open-mouthed kisses along her jaw, his hands roaming her body from her chest to her side. They came to rest upon her thighs, and Hanna took the initiative to hook her legs around him, pulling herself up so that she was sitting in his lap. In her new position, she could feel his very obvious erection pressing against her center, sending jolts of pleasure through her body. Her head arched backwards as his mouth kept attacking her skin until it enclosed over her nipple, his free hand teasing her other breast. Hanna tried to bite back a strange moan, to no avail.

"Fuck Caleb," She groaned as he bit down on the sensitive skin, sending her straight to the very edge, where she needed more than just his mouth on her.

The only way that she knew how to distract him, and guide him in the right direction, was to grab him by the hair and pull his face towards hers to kiss him passionately. She ran her hands down to his shoulders, and then to where their chests were pressed together. With some pressure, she separated them so that she could run her hands further down. Then, she suddenly stopped what she was doing as Caleb began to move faster, his hands running over her ass a few times before he tucked them underneath her bikini bottoms, moving his hands over the warm, soft, naked skin there. He used the moment to shift her even closer to him; he couldn't control himself as he arched against her center, desperate for some friction. He swallowed down a moan as he felt the heat emanating from her core.

"Caleb," She whimpered against his mouth, flicking her tongue out so that it ran along his lips. She arched against him, aching for more.

He immediately understood what she wanted, and moved his hand to the front of her bikini bottoms, carefully at first, awaiting her response. She kissed him more urgently, arching against his roaming hand, which he moved underneath the material in order to cup her. He gasped as the heat and wetness that immediately coated his exploring fingers.

"Caleb," Hanna begged him as she leant backwards slightly in order to give him better access. She bit her bottom lip as he slowly pushed a finger inside of her, curving it slightly as he started to pump it in and out of her, nuzzling her neck and pressing soft kisses to her exposed skin.

Hanna couldn't think, nor make a sound. She couldn't even remember the last time that she had felt so good; she kept her eyes shut tightly, convinced that she would see stars if she opened them.

Caleb kept pumping his fingers in and out of her, moving his hand so that he could brush his thumb over her sensitive nub. Hanna immediately groaned in pleasure, digging her nails into the strong muscles of his shoulders.

She moved in closer to him, her hands falling from his shoulders down to his chest, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake, her nails raking slowly over his tanned skin, awakening every nerve ending in his body. He could feel himself twitching in anticipation, the sheer pleasure of bringing Hanna to the edge and hearing his name falling from her plump, pink lips more than enough to make him explode.

"Shit Hanna," He suddenly cried out as she reached between his legs in order to stroke his length through his swimming trunks. She rubbed her hands up and down a few times, feeling how hard and big he was. Caleb stilled his fingers for a second, trying hard to keep himself from losing it as her hands found the elastic band of his trunks, and slowly tried to pry them down.

Part of him wanted to tell her that she didn't need to do anything, that watching her come undone was more than enough for him. But his body was already moving so that Hanna could push his swimming trunks down far enough for her to wrap her hand around his cock, which felt warm and big in her hand. His entire body shuddered as she slowly ran a finger over the tip of his cock, and his fingers started working harder, going deeper as she slowly stroked his cock up and down, squeezing him and sending him headfirst into oblivion.

Knowing that he wasn't going to last for much longer, he sped up his movements, putting more pressure on her clit and deepening their kiss.

A long groan followed his actions, and she pulled away from him in order to moan his name; her inner muscles tightened around his fingers, her juices running over his hand as she trembled violently in his embrace, her breathing rapid and shallow as she kept pumping his cock.

"Hanna, I'm going to come," He groaned, bucking his hips against her hand, leaving sloppy kisses on her neck as the splintering sensation of his orgasm ran through him, his cock pulsing in Hanna's hand as he came. She kept running her hand up and down until he managed to tell her to stop; every single one of his nerve endings were over-sensitive due to the sheer intensity of his orgasm.

He kept his eyes closed as he took a few deep breaths, trying to keep hold of the moment for just a little longer.

He could feel Hanna moving away from him, and opened his eyes to see what she was doing as the jet ski started to sway slightly. He opened them just in time to see Hanna moving her hand through the water a few times, and blushed as she sat up, moving back to her previous position on his lap.

"I'm sorry about that," He whispered against her lips, kissing her softly, running his hands over the curve of her ass.

"It was hot," She smirked.

"You're hot," He concurred, digging his nails into the supple flesh underneath her bikini bottoms as they shared another slow, languid kiss.

They pulled apart, and he gazed at her. He brushed his thumb over her cheek, enjoying the way that she was returning his loving gaze.

"Are you okay?" He whispered softly, a soft smile playing upon his lips.

"Caleb, I'm with you. I'm more than okay."

 **XxxxX**

 **A massive, enormous thank you to miss Hannnarivers for proofing. Promise I'll keep the chapters shorter in the future. Thank you to FranchBenzo and TV fanlife for being there for me.**

 **I hope everyone has survived the largest chapter I've ever written.**

 **Let me hear what your thoughts are.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Unexpected**

 **Chapter 13**

"What do you reckon is taking them so long?" Ashley worried, glancing over the lake as she stood in the garden of the lakehouse. Her arms crossed when she didn't spot a jet ski, Hanna, or Caleb.

"William and the boys have been back a good 30 minutes now." She added.

"Probably taking full advantage of having some unsupervised time to themselves." Claudia suggested and pulled a bottle of wine from the outdoor fridge for dinner. She was expecting the pair to be back by dinner at least. As far as she knew, Caleb's hunger always steered him straight back home, no matter what he was doing.

"Pour me a large one if you're going to talk like that Claudia." Ashley retorted and walked back to the table to grab some glasses for Claudia to fill.

"Hold on tight to those glasses Ashley, if I am not mistaken the lost children have returned." Claudia whispered looking over her shoulder towards the lake. Ashley turned around to follow her gaze and recognised the unmistakable features of her daughter. They sat at the table together sipping their wine, watching their children get closer to the house until they were close enough to greet them.

"Why are you so wet?" Claudia asked when she was close enough to hug Caleb as soon as he disembarked the jet ski.

"Thought you went jet skiing, not swimming." Claudia stated as she embraced Caleb nonetheless.

"We took a dive to cool off." He mumbled without looking at her. He tried his best not to meet Hannas gaze as he said it, who's cheeks had tinted a shade of pink.

"How was it?" Ashley inquired, walking back to the table. She turned around to look at her daughter when she failed to answer her.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she noticed Hannas worried expression.

"Where's Aubrey?" Looking around the garden.

Ashley sighed; "She's upstairs, sleeping. I put her down for a nap an hour ago."

The words had hardly left her mouth and Hanna was walking off, striding into the house with Caleb following close behind.

"So happy to hear you had a great time and all that!" Ashley called at their backs, but the words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Hanna skipped a few steps making her way up the winding staircase. Yearning to see her daughter again. She hated being apart from Aubrey.

Both her and Caleb were silent when they walked to the end of the landing towards his room where Aubrey was sleeping. Caleb stepped in front of Hanna to open the door for her. He quickly followed Hanna into the dimly lit room.

He heard Hanna sigh and joined her at the edge of Aubrey's crib. He looked at Hanna for a short moment and smiled to himself. It was hard to see properly in the semi dark room, so he reached over to the night light to brighten the room a little more without waking up Aubrey. He loved the way Hanna was staring down at their daughter with so much adoration and love.

After a brief moment, he managed to tear his eyes away from Hanna to look down at his precious little girl. Her blonde hair curled due to the humid air in the room, the little plump arms on the side of her face, one fat fist holding tight onto her bunny.

He reached down and ran his hand softly over her tummy whilst he wrapped the other one around Hanna to pull her into his side. Absentmindedly, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head as she relaxed against him.

"Sometimes I can't believe we created something so perfect." Hanna sighed and looked up at Caleb who was staring at her.

"That's all her mommy's doing." He murmured, moving closer to Hanna who turned her body towards his so she could look at him. Caleb wrapped one hand tight around her waist, the other one tucking her hair behind her ear. He looked at her, tracing his thumb over her cheeks, lowering it to her mouth. His eyes following his movements.

He bit his lip as he moved closer, brushing his lips over hers and cupping her face to pull her into him. She smiled into the kiss which allowed him to slide his tongue against hers. Hanna stood on her toes, hands disappearing in his long hair to deepen the kiss. She moaned into his mouth as his hands ran over the damp material of her bikini top, tracing her nipples with his thumb over the material.

"We should get you out of these wet clothes." He whispered against her lips, running his hands over her back to undo her top but Hanna stepped back, breathing heavily due to the short but intense kiss.

"Not here, the door is open and I'm sure one of the mom's will come and check on us soon enough." She breathed.

"I forgot about them." He smiled shyly. "I should change as well, meet you downstairs?" He asked and kissed her quickly before she stepped across the landing to disappear to the room she shared with her mother.

 **XxxxX**

"Just in time for dinner!" Claudia greeted Hanna who walked into the kitchen. "Where's Caleb?"

"I think he's getting changed."

"Well, come and join us in the garden Hanna, I think your mother missed you these few hours."

They both grinned as they joined Ashley and William at the table.

"Where are the boys?" William asked looking around the garden.

Claudia raised her eyebrows at her husband. "Caleb is changing so he should be here any minute. But I thought the kids were with you?"

"I'm sure they went inside to play in their room, I'll check." William stood up to walk back towards the house but before he could walk up the staircase Caleb came downstairs with Aubrey in his arms.

"Hey Caleb, have you seen James and Clay? Your mom said they were upstairs."

"I've only been in my room." He smiled at his stepfather, who was tickling Aubrey's tummy whilst making baby noises that sounded unfamiliar from Williams mouth.

Aubrey whined loudly at the contact and hid her face in the crook of her father's neck. Caleb ran his hand soothingly though her hair and looked apologetically at William.

"I'm going to get her to Hanna so she can wake up a little, she's not a morning person." He grinned.

As soon as Caleb walked into the garden Aubrey finally lifted her head from the crook of his neck and replaced it on his shoulder to look at all the people calling her name for attention,

He walking in Hanna's direction to hand Aubrey to her, but she was having none of it. Aubrey held on tight onto Caleb and hid her head again. Ignoring her mom and both grandmothers who were dying for her attention.

"Sorry," he mouthed to Hanna and sat down next to her with Aubrey hanging on for dear life.

Caleb stopped himself in time from leaning in to press a kiss on Hanna's lips. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he was sure his mother still caught his involuntary movement, squinting her eyes at him. He was glad she decided against saying anything and took a sip from her wine instead.

"Did you wake her or did she wake up by herself?" Hanna asked worriedly, glancing at the back of Aubrey head.

"She woke up when I was still trying to get changed. So I had to finish getting dressed with her attached to me as if her life depended on it."

"Poor baby." Claudia soothed.

Hanna exchanged a worrying look with Ashley, which didn't go amiss by Caleb.

"Looks like she's teething to me." Hanna groaned and ran her hands over Aubrey back a few times in order to soothe her. She dropped her hand onto Caleb's knee underneath the table, squeezing it two times before returning her attention to her mom who was observing her with a curious look on her face.

 **XxxxX**

It was a while until William came back with James and Clay who had turned out to have been playing hide and seek.

After Caleb and Hanna had relayed their parent proof version of their trip on the lake, James excitedly told the table about their boating trip and how he nearly caught a fish with his hands.

Both Hanna and Caleb noticed he kept staring between the pair of them when he was talking from across the table, where he was sitting between Claudia and Ashley.

Caleb knew what that look meant and hoped James would steer away from his inappropriate questions, especially with everyone at the table. He tried to move Aubrey in his lap so he could leave the table and use Aubrey as an excuse, but James high voice traveled innocently over the table before he could put his plan into action.

"Mommy?" He asked, his big blue eyes surveying his mother. "Are Hanna and Caleb having another baby?"

Claudia chuckled lightheartedly and gave her middle child a weird look.

"They already have a baby James, she's right there." Claudia pointed. "Why would you think they're having a baby?"

"Because we saw Caleb giving Hanna a special kiss, didn't we Clay?!." Ashley nearly choked on her wine as Caleb's mind started to race, trying to figure out when and how they were seen as he felt his heart racing, his cheeks heating up in the process. He didn't dare to look at Hanna.

He hoped to the high heavens they weren't seen on the jet ski, but then William would have seen them as well.

To his annoyance, James wasn't done spilling the beans and Claudia only encouraged James to continue.

"You did?" Claudia asked gleefully and shared a knowing look with Ashley before the pair of them scrutinised the embarrassed teens from across the table. Their flushed faces full of guilt.

"He put his tongue in her mouth." James sniggered behind his hand but everyone heard him clearly.

Caleb groaned and tried to hide himself behind Aubrey, but failed miserably. Hanna busied herself with her drink, trying not to look at her mother or Claudia who were staring at the both of them.

"You're making it up!" Caleb challenged in a moment of pseudo bravery. He heard Hanna groan next to him, her hand squeezing his leg as if to say "stop encouraging him." She had learned in the few days of knowing James, the kid lacked any kind of filter and didn't need to be challenged to tell everyone around the table even more.

"We were playing hide and seek in your room upstairs just now and we saw them, didn't we Clay?"

"We saw." Clay echoed proudly, nodding his head enthusiastic.

"And then Caleb put his hand on …." He continued to inform the table, holding his hands, opened up in front of him, leaving nothing to the imagination.

"Okay! I think we heard enough!". Claudia butted in, pushing James hands down on the table.

There were certain things she didn't need or want to know about her eldest child. She sat up and tried to usher James from the table who objected because he didn't have dessert yet.

"But mommy, does that mean Hanna and Caleb are having a baby?" He protested.

"I hope not." Ashley grumbled under her breath, emptying her glass of wine. Loud enough for Hanna and Caleb to hear, who had their heads bowed in shame. Caleb squeezed Hannas hand under the table so she knew he would be by her side during this mortifying moment.

"I'm sure they're not having another baby, looks like they have their hands full enough with the one they have." Claudia said, successfully ushering James from the table with promises of s'mores later that night.

"They do." Ashley added, and Hanna could hear the displeasure in her words. "Hanna, come and help me on the kitchen?"

Hanna got up, her face burning as she followed her mom. Hunching over as if she was walking towards her death.

Hanna walked straight to the kitchen to make herself some coffee and to keep her trembling hands busy. "Coffee?" She asked her mother without turning around to face her.

"Answers." Her mother replied, crossing her arms and staring at the back of Hanna's head.

She could tell by the tone of her mom's voice she wasn't kidding around. She busied herself with the coffee machine a bit more, the noise masking the sounds of her mother coming closer until Hanna felt her mom leaning against the counter next to her, her eyes boring into the side of her head. Hanna bit the inside of her lip from keeping herself from smiling despite the situation.

"Start talking Hanna, how come James and Clay saw you two kissing? With tongue no less?" She asked angrily and Hanna was taken aback by the severity of it.

"You told me a few days ago that nothing, she mimicked Hanna's voice, absolutely nothing, happened or would ever happen between you and Caleb?"

Hanna couldn't help herself but snort. But Ashley wasn't amused.

"You must be the only one finding it funny Hanna. I can't imagine Claudia laughing about the fact her five and three year old have been subjected to early sex education by the hands of two teenagers."

That wiped the grin off Hanna's face and was rapidly replaced by a worried expression.

"Do you think she's mad at us?" She asked her mother in a small voice.

"You'll have to ask her Hanna. But back to your own mom now." She said pointing at herself.

"What happened, and more importantly, since when? Was it when he broke up with that Kira girl?" But Hanna shook her head.

"Stop stalling and tell me how long this has been going on Hanna, you know I don't like being lied to."

"Not that long mom." She mumbled, avoiding looking at her mother. "It started yesterday and we didn't even have time to discuss what it is yet, so that's why we didn't tell anyone. I was going to tell you on the flight home."

"Yesterday? You mean when you camped out together?"

Hanna blushed profusely, she knew where her mother's mind was going.

When she had found out she was pregnant with Aubrey, it left her no choice but to tell her mom exactly when it happened, the irony of the camping theme wasn't lost on Hanna.

"Are you having sex?" Her mom asked directly.

Hanna cringed at her directness "Mom! I told you, we kissed last night."

She met her mother's piercing stare and knew if she lied to her now, her mother would know something more had happened, and she wasn't going to tell her mom about the trip on the jet ski. She'd rather die.

"Were not having sex, stop worrying." She mumbled.

"Stop worrying? I am a 40-something grandmother!" Hanna cowered at her words and she regretted being so harsh.

"Hanna, I'll always worry, you're my daughter." Ashley sighed and observed her daughter. "Look, you might not want to hear this from your mother, but I'd prefer it if we visit the doctor when we get home so we can get you on some birth control at least okay?"

Ashley waited for Hanna to respond but her daughter kept staring at the contents of her mug. After a few moments she wondered if Hanna had heard her at all.

"Hanna? Are you listening?"

"I am." she scoffed

"But?"

"But nothing, it's awkward to talk to you about it."

"Well we can stop talking about it if you can promise me to never have sex again." Her mother said, half joking.

Hanna looked horrified at her mother, but kept silent.

"Right.." She said after the silence stretched between them. "So birth control as soon as you get home. And the love of God Hanna, talk to me next time about you and Caleb, so I don't have to hear about yours and Caleb's tongues in each other's mouths from James next time."

And please remember what I said, I love Aubrey with all my heart but I'd like to wait another 10 years or more for my next grandbaby to make an entrance in this world."

 **XxxxX**

"Hey."

"Hey, how mad is she?" Hanna asked a blushing Caleb who was hiding from his family on the upper deck on the back of the house.

"She asked me how long it's been going on, cussed me for sneaking around with you, but she did tell me she's happy for us.

"She is?"

"Something about her seeing me happy makes her happy." He rolled his eyes at his mother's cliche.

"You don't look too happy." Hanna noticed and worried even more when he didn't quite meet her eyes. She joined him on the rocking chair. He stared into the distance at the view of the hills as the sun went down.

They sat together in silence, Hanna deep in thoughts, asking herself how she… they got there.

She voiced her thoughts, breaking the comfortable silence. "Can't believe we're here, now. Who would have thought huh?"

A sad look appeared on his face. "Not me. I thought I'd never see you again." He choked and he could feel the lump in his throat. He reached out his hand in between them until he found hers and entwined their fingers together, holding her tight. After a long silence between them he finally felt ready to speak again.

"I don't want you to leave Hanna."

Without looking at her, he could tell by the way she stiffened next to him, she was caught of guard by his words. It was the elephant in the room they'd chosen to ignore until that very moment, only to be spoken about when their separation was on their doorstep.

He tried to catch her gaze when she stood up suddenly, but he relaxed again when she positioned herself to sit in his lap.

Hanna took a while to get comfortable, but eventually rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady breathing of his heart. She clutched his t-shirt in her hand as his arm wrapped around her waist, his free hand seeking out hers, rubbing soothingly over her knuckles.

"I don't want to leave either." she breathed into his shirt.

"So what do we do Hanna?" He asks, scared for the answer. He rocked the chair gently, trying to calm his heavy heart.

"I don't know Caleb, have you talked to your mom about your school? Could you transfer to Rosewood?"

She felt him take a few deep breaths, waiting for him to speak.

"She's adamant I stay in this school and finish this year, here in California. She doesn't want to give up her parental rights after fighting the system to get it back, and…."

She waited patiently for him to continue. Hanna had a suspicion why Claudia did not want to give up her parental rights to Caleb.

"Jacob?" Hanna asked silently.

Hanna felt Caleb's heart rate quicken at her words and the chair creaked when he shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah…., uhm, how did you..she told you about him?"

"She did."

"It's why she doesn't want me to leave Hanna, I'm still being monitored by the CPS whilst underage, so I can't just up and leave however much I'd want to be with you and Aubrey." He gripped her waist as he spoke.

Another silence fell between them. Both lost in thought. Hanna wondered for a long time how she was going to continue being a single mom to Aubrey, knowing Caleb was willing to be in their lives and having experienced him as a father.

Caleb wondered how on earth after everything, he could ask Hanna the one question he'd been trying to ask her all day.

He entwined their fingers, finding the courage and his voice.

"Han?"

"Hmmm" she replied softly from against his chest.

He cleared his throat.

"I know this may seem a bit weird, but could I…. Could I maybe spend the rest of the evening with Aubrey. You know, before you guys leave tomorrow morning? I haven't had a lot of alone time to spend with her...and… uh...I mean… I can understand if you don't want me to.. but...I…" He stuttered. This idea sounded way better in his head.

"I understand you wanted to see if I you could trust me with her before, but I'd really love to have a few moments alone with her before she goes to bed."

He looked down to find Hanna staring at him. His courage wavering as she kept staring.

"I mean.. I… I understand if you'd rather not."

"Caleb I think that's great. And I agree, it will be good for the both of you to spend some alone time together, just the two of you. I'll go save her from her grandmother's clutches and bring her up."

 **XxxX**

The idea had seemed great at first. Spending some time with Aubrey outside and to take a walk. But as soon as his brothers had noticed, they had followed Caleb and Aubrey everywhere they went…

He got rid of them by reminding his brothers their mom had promised them smores.

He spent a moment with Aubrey on the edge of the lake talking to her and peppering her with kisses as he fought the tears when he remembered she would be going home the very next day.

"I love you so much." He whispered against her forehead as he brought her back inside with a new idea in his head, making his way to Hanna's bedroom.

He remembered Hanna had told him how much she would love to try out the Jacuzzi with Aubrey. What kid didn't love bubbles right?

After getting Aubrey out of her many layers of clothes and cleaning up an unexpected poo she'd done in the meantime, he lowered her in the tub, giving her the tea set he'd gotten her to play with. She was happily guzzling when he decided to turn on the Jacuzzi.

Caleb regretted that decision as soon as he saw her entire body shake in horror at the bubbles from underneath her, her big brown eyes looking at him in fright and clawing the side of the tub, screaming her head off, her face turning scarlet in seconds. She clawed at the side of the bath to be lifted from the jacuzzi. Her screams undoubtedly reaching all the way to the garden where he knew Hanna was trying her hardest not to freak out and run upstairs to see what was going on.

He lifted her in his strong arms and wrapped her up in a fluffy towel. Holding her against his chest and tried his best to soothe her. Scolding himself for making her upset.

 **XxxxX**

Hanna really tried her hardest to stay where she was, as soon as she heard Aubrey's horrified screams coming from upstairs. She knew she could trust Caleb with their daughter but she couldn't find it in herself to relax as long as the screams went on. She was about to run upstairs when she caught her mother looking at her and shaking her head ever so slightly.

"He deserves a chance to learn Hanna. I'm sure he'll come downstairs if he needs help."

She hated that her mom was right. The screaming subsided soon enough, but she still wondered what on earth caused Aubrey to cry like that. Hanna still wasn't used to leave Aubrey out of her sight if she could help it.

After another hour of trying to pretend to listen to her mother and Claudia plotting ideas for a shared summer holiday next year. Curiosity got the better of her and she excused herself to sneak upstairs.

It was at least an hour after Aubrey's bedtime and wanted to check on both Caleb and Aubrey to make sure at least not both of them had fallen asleep.

She reached the landing when she heard his soft voice traveling from the deck where they had sat together earlier that night. She realised Caleb was singing to Aubrey, she crept closer to hear the words.

" _You are golden,  
Precious as a prayer, flying up through the air while the rain is falling golden,_

 _Timeless as a kiss, baby I don't want to miss another perfect moment.  
To tell you, how you make me feel._

 _The day you strolled in, my heart was stolen._

' _Cause you are golden."_

Hanna smiled to herself when she finally managed to make out the words. She felt the tears welling in her eyes , staring at Caleb's back in the rocking chair. Even through the beautiful words she could tell by the way he paused sometimes, he was emotional.

" _My single star amongst the gray,  
Always shining down…" _

Hanna wasn't aware that she had sniffed loudly in order to keep the tears at bay, until she heard the old rocking chair creak loudly into the silence of the evening and found Caleb looking at her.

"I'm so sorry Caleb." She whispered moving closer to where he was sitting.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your daddy daughter moment!" She apologised.

"It's fine." He smiled softly and reached out for her to move closer. "She's fast asleep anyway. I didn't want to subject her to my bad singing when she was awake." He chuckled.

"You're not a bad singer." She smiled as she leaned over the chair and kissed the top of his head. "I loved hearing you sing."

They both stared at Aubrey asleep in Caleb's lap. Wrapped in the baby blue blanket Claudia had laid out for Aubrey in their first day at the house in Montecito.

"I think you should bring this with you when you leave." Caleb whispered, running the soft material through his hands. "It used to be mine."

"It did?"

"Yeah. My mom kept it all this time, I want Aubrey to have something of mine when I can't be with her." He swallowed.

"She already does." Hanna chuckled, running a soft finger over Aubrey's strong jawline and chin.

"She won't forget about you Caleb," she said, cupping his face with her hand, running her thumb over his cheek. "I won't let her."

She kissed him softly. After a long moment he pulled back.

"Should we put her to bed?"

"You do it, I'll be downstairs."

 **XxxX**

After Caleb put Aubrey to bed, he spend the rest of the evening with his family, Ashley and Hanna making s'mores around the fire pit.

Their last evening was full of laughter and joy as James and Clay tried to eat as many s'mores they could before their mom could put a stop to it.

Caleb almost forgot about Hanna leaving the next day, until Ashley finally gave in after another yawn due to either the heat from the fire or the many glasses of wine.

"I'm off to bed, it's an early start tomorrow." She looked at Hanna and Caleb sitting close together, holding hands. Hanna's hand holding a stick with a marshmallow burnt to a crisp at the end of it.

"Hanna?"

"I want to stay up for a while." Hanna answered lazily.

She huffed when Ashley shot Claudia a pointed look.

"We're turning in as well actually." Claudia said, getting up pulling William with her. "James and Clay love getting up at the crack of dawn." She halted next to Ashley, looking at the teens who were staring up at them.

"Please behave you two. We don't want more grandbabies at the moment." She said as a form of goodbye, chuckling at their shocked faces.

Hanna and Caleb watched their parents disappear into the house, Caleb's arm wrapping around Hannas waist.

She laid her head on his shoulder. "Should we call it a night as well?" She mumbled, not wanting to leave his side.

He pulled back a bit so look at her.

"Han, I'm not going to spend the last hours I can have with you, sleeping in my bed."

 **XxxX**

"Here," Caleb says softly handing Hanna a fluffy towel he brought with him for their swim. He drapes it over her shoulder and rubs a few times even though the night air was still hot and humid. Having a late night swim in the lake had been a great way to cool off after the hot and long day they'd had.

They make their way back to the beach bed that got too hot during the day for use. Hanna dropped the towel from her body and laid herself down and stretching out like a cat, feeling relaxed as she let out a yawn.

"You can go to bed of you want, we don't have to stay up all night." Caleb said, joining her on the lounger pulling her damp body against his. "I just wanted some alone time with you."

She shifts a few times making herself comfortable until she settles with her head on his chest. His hand around her waist, nuzzling his face in her hair.

"I'm in a bed," Hanna countered. "I'm good here." She smiled, finally comfortable when he feels Caleb moving beneath her. She lifts her head to look at him as he turns on his side, somehow keeping her in his arms as he faces her, a soft look on his face.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I want to remember this moment forever." He said simply. "Sometimes I still can't believe you're here or that we ran into each other."

"We've got out mom's to thank for that."

"And Aubrey."

She smiled, thinking about her little girl. "It's weird thinking about how your mom was drawn to Aubrey that first day at the beach."

"Its kizmet." He smiled repeating her own words and waited for the slap Hanna was about to give him. He chuckled when she did.

"You remember that?" Hanna asked, wondering if he thought about their night camping out as often as she did.

"Of course I do, he said softly, running the pad of his thumb over her cheek. "That's when we kissed for the first time."

Hanna smiled at the memory. "I was so nervous."

"Me too." He smiled, moving so close their noses were nearly touching. "You still make me nervous." He breathes in the small space between them.

With a soft sigh he swiftly captures her lips, his mouth insistent against her own. His arms draw her closer against him as she grants him entry, their kiss heating up considerably as their body's are pressed close together. Her bikini and his swimming trunk only covering small parts of their bodies. Hanna can't suppress a moan when Caleb breaks their kiss, moving his mouth over her jaw, pressing deliberate kisses down her neck, sucking on the delicate skin until he reaches her pulsepoint. Gently biting the skin, soothing it with his tongue moments later.

His mouth follows his roaming hands over her body, softly caressing her skin, followed by deliberate kisses to her hot skin. Caleb glances up to her face, her closed lids and her mouth slightly opened. He can feel her chest moving underneath him with the short breaths she's taking, her erect nipples protruding through the thin material of her bikini.

"Have I mentioned how gorgeous you are?" Caleb asked her, moving so he's right above her now, bumping his nose against hers.

"Not yet."

He covers his mouth over hers and kisses her passionately. "You're gorgeous Hanna." He tells her, brushing a thumb over her cheek, his steady gaze on her.

He bends over to join their lips again, but Hanna makes a quick move and flips them over, settling her body over his as he relaxes against the soft mattress of the lounger.

Their new position puts her at the perfect height to meet his lips for a deep kiss. Her hands disappearing in his long hair as their kiss becomes more intense. The heat between them building. Caleb's hands disappear underneath the bottom of Hannas bikini, cupping her ass in his hands and pressing her closer against him, the effect she was having on him rubbing against her core deliciously. She moaned in his mouth, tugging at his hair even harder making him moan into her mouth as they slowly moved against each other, seeking much needed friction.

Caleb pulled one hand away to brush against her side, running up her back to pull at the strings of her top. He pulled his mouth away from her and sat up, taking her with him to remove her top, dropping it carelessly somewhere besides them, never tearing his eyes away from her.

"Gorgeous." He said again as he drank her in, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her.

Hanna ran her hands over his toned chest, dropping lower to the hem of his swim shorts and it reminded her of their first night in the tent.

"Condom?" She asked, more bravely than back then, into his ear. He pulled back looking shocked and Hanna searched his eyes. Had she misunderstood their heavy make out session? According to the obvious strain against his shorts she couldn't have, but he was still looking at her in shock.

"Hanna, I don't… dont have one on me."

"Oh."

"Shit." Caleb mumbles, looking nervous. "Do you think we.."

"Caleb, we can't have, not without…" She started, and felt herself come down from her aroused state and made a move to get off his lap. But Caleb pulled her back against him, rolling them so she was underneath him. He kissed her briefly and pulled back, brushing a few strands from her face.

"Hanna I understand, and I wasn't suggesting being unsafe."

"What are you suggesting." She groaned as he pressed himself against her and kissed behind her ear.

"Do you trust me?" He mumbled against her collarbone, nibbling it slightly. Her sharp intake of breath when he gently bit her skin was answer enough for him. He smiled against her, as he made his way further down. He felt the increase of her heartbeat underneath his lips as he palmed her breasts, Hanna arching into his touch. Her fingers digging into his shoulders as his lips close over one of her breasts, calming the other one, gently rolling his finger over the exposed nipple.

With the sound of her moans and whimpers increasing, Caleb makes his way further down, slowly dragging his lips over her stomach where he feels her flinch slightly under his touch. Soothingly, he runs his hands over her upper legs, resting them on the small fabric of her bikini bottoms yet leaving them on for now, concentrating on nipping and sucking on her hip bones, rubbing the smooth skin of her inner thighs with his hands ever so softly. He moves further down and kisses her just above her center through the material to test the waters.

He grins when Hanna arches herself against his face and lets slip another moan in return. Slowly, he pries the material down her legs, Hanna hastily helping him remove them using her feet to push them down her legs.

"Eager much?" He teases, bending down to run his lips along the inside of her leg. Hanna pulling on his hair, gently pushing him towards where she wants him. She groans when he finally complies and presses his mouth against her skin, his tongue tracing along the seam of her before swiftly plunging his tongue in. His fingertips dig into her hips as he alternates licking and suckling at her, soft and firm in equal measures, immediately figuring out which spots draw out the best responses from her. The roughness of his fingertips digging into the flesh of her hips and probing tongue serves as the perfect counterpoint to the softness of his mouth.

As Caleb's lips and tongue work tirelessly against her, Hanna's hips press up to meet his every move. His hands at her hips encourage her to rock against him, and she finds the shared control even more gratifying. Her fingers tangle into his hair once more, less to guide him than to spur him on. Her nails scrape along his skull, and she can feel the responding groan from him vibrating straight into her core. She repeats the motion again, occasionally tugging at strands as her fingers tighten within them.

He continues alternating between broad strokes of his tongue and sucking kisses into the little bundle of nerves that was driving her crazy.

"Please." Hanna begs.

He smiles against her, but finally lets up with his teasing that was keeping her on the edge, maintaining a perfect rhythm against her swollen clit. Adding his fingers to the mix as he pushes two of them inside her, curling them upwards to stroke her, his other hand digging at her hips to hold her steady as she moves helplessly against the onslaught of his tongue and fingers, feeling the fire pooling in her abdomen.

"Caleb…" She managed to groan before the shockwaves of her orgasm burned through her. Caleb not letting up, he kept kissing and licking as she shuddered beneath him from her climax. Hanna never seizing to moan his name, slowly coming down from her high.

Caleb stopped when he felt her push against his shoulders. Looking at Hanna lying back on the lounge bed, still reeling from the aftershocks as he presses soft kisses against her belly.

With a big goofy and satisfied grin, Hanna sinks further into the pillows behind her, trying to catch her breath. Caleb crawls back up her body, a proud grin on his face. Lazily, she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, tasting herself on his lips.

The kiss itself is slow and languorous, even with Caleb nuzzled against her, she can feel his impossibly hard erection against her sensitive center. As she is getting down from her high, she can't help herself to move her hand in between them, rubbing over the material of his shorts.

Caleb jerks at the sudden contact. He wasn't expecting her to reciprocate, watching her come undone because of him had been more than enough for him, but with her soft and deliberate touches he can't help but groan into their kiss.

Hanna moved swiftly, pushing down his shorts as he helps her in removing them. She gently pushes him against the mattress. Slowly kissing her way down his body, running her hands over his chest, teasing him with her long nails. She revels in the way his chest moves rapidly in anticipation. She watches his face closely as she wraps her hand around his cock.

He squeezes his eyes shut and she can see him taking a steadying breath. She smiles to herself, slowly moving her hand up and down, her mouth kissing his thighs. She runs her finger over the head of his cock as he clutches a clump of her hair in his hand, desperately trying to catch his breath when he feels Hanna's mouth around the tip of his cock, the warmth and wetness almost too much as she keeps stroking him. He can feel the pressure building rapidly. The way her tongue is pressing against the tip, her entire mouth around him as she keeps moving, her hand stroking his inner thigh whilst the other one speeds up the movement, keeping her mouth on him, sucking the tip and running her lips tantalizing over his cock before taking him in her mouth again. Caleb can feel himself about to come and pulls her hair slightly to let her know.

"Hanna...I'm close." He gasps, but Hanna grabs around his upper leg and keeps going, speeding up her movements, flicking her tongue over his cock with every other stroke.

Caleb can't contain himself any longer, he sucks in a breath when he feels the hot wave of his climax erupt inside him, his hips jerking uncontrollably with Hanna's hot mouth still around him, groaning her name like a lament, only slowing down as he came.

Caleb felt like he was seeing stars as he lay there, hardly registering the way Hanna was crawling back on his body until she muzzled into the crook of his neck. He managed to open his eyes to look at her. "Jesus Hanna, that was….wow."

He turned around to wrap her in his arms for a cuddle, his brain to fuzzy to form words. He could feel Hanna stiffen in his embrace and he looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

"As much as I want to stay here all night to be with you, maybe it won't be the best thing if we fall asleep here. Naked and all that " She giggled shyly.

"Just little while?" He begged, certain his legs still felt like jelly.

"A little while." She agreed, moving in closer, brushing her lips against his, smiling into their kiss as he pulled a thin sheet over their bodies.

 **XxxxX**

 _ **A special thank you to Katey for helping me out.**_

 _ **To Marion who always believes in me and to Sam, for being the silent force for me to finish this chapter.**_


End file.
